Finding Fulfillment – Anytime, Anywhere
We can find fulfillment at any time, in any place, under any conditions – inner satisfaction has nothing to do with the circumstances of our lives. We could be having the time of our lives, or suffering a great loss. We could be wealthy beyond imagination, or living under a bridge in Brooklyn. And we can still be happy, feel satisfied, and find fulfillment!
Whether we imagine ourselves in wealth beyond compare or in terror and loneliness, know this: we bring ourselves with us. Our mental attitudes define how we feel and how we cope with the situation. We might be physically more comfortable in a beach house than a torture chamber, but our mental framework will determine if we find peace or anxiety in either situation.
Fulfillment is an attitude. It is a choice. It is a mindset. That is why it is so critical to lay the inner foundation – the strong and powerful building blocks of your authentic self with full knowledge of your strengths and weaknesses, drives and desires, traumas and triggers.
This week, I’ve had to face the death of my dad and the process of letting go and mourning. While it’s been ongoing already for some time – he’s been declining due to dementia for a decade – there’s really no way to fully prepare for the loss of a parent. The world is a different place without him in it. I could easily become overwhelmed and emotionally devastated.
Instead, I’ve stayed present with my emotions, letting the waves of sadness arise, feeling them wash through me, and releasing them through tears. It hasn’t been all grief; I’ve felt really good this week, too. When we buried him, and I looked around at the November trees here in New England, watching the wind blow through the last of the leaves, I thought, “that’s his spirit, finally free,” and I was happy that he was at peace.
We can choose our attitudes, which guide our experience of life. Life happens, there’s no controlling it, so our best approach is to have the inner power to be true to ourselves no matter what the circumstances.
Think of your best case scenario. Think of your worst. How prepared are you to put yourself in a mental mindset that allows you to handle either situation with grace, strength, and serenity? How much is your emotional state swayed by the conditions of life – happy if good things happen, depressed in negative situations? Or can you find a balance within?
The power to choose our attitudes begins with building a strong inner foundation of self-knowledge, focusing on key characteristics that we all have the power to develop. The following are five of these key traits that form a powerful base for choosing and cultivating a life of fulfillment:
- Personal responsibility – taking responsibility for our thoughts, feelings, and actions
- Open-mindedness – being open to new ideas, breaking our own patterns, and other people’s perspectives
- Willingness – being willing to put new ideas into practice, to continually work on improving ourselves, to persevere no matter what
- Awareness – making the commitment to listen inwardly to ourselves and to use the knowledge gained toward living a life of integrity and satisfaction
- Honesty – being true to ourselves and to others, even if it means admitting we aren’t always right (!)
When we practice these traits, we gain the “POWAH” to find fulfillment and satisfaction in life, no matter the circumstances surrounding us. These five tools are outlined in detail in the Dream Life Workbook, Your Insanely Satisfied Life: 5 Powerful Tools for Overcoming Obstacles and Achieving Goals. If you haven’t already, you can download the workbook for more on each topic with exercises to apply to your own life.
The better we know ourselves, the easier it is to be true to ourselves in all situations and circumstances, the “good” and the “bad.” And the truer we are to ourselves, the better we feel, no matter what is happening around us. Over the next weeks, we’ll explore these topics in blog posts and in the Facebook community. I hope you’ll tune in and join the conversations.
