5 Steps to Create Self-Fulfillment in Times of Adversity
You will never find self-fulfillment if you are struggling.
That is the lie I felt like we are all told. If we struggle, we cannot be happy and therefore cannot be fulfilled.
But the problem isn’t the adversity itself, it is the way we look at it. We see struggle as bad and, to struggle is to fail. But it’s not.
To struggle is to progress, to learn, to improve, to grow.
Self-fulfillment is an elusive concept at the best of times but when faced with adversity, it seems near impossible to find. Life is hard, messy and doesn’t ever seem to go the way we plan. Life just keeps getting in the way, seemingly throwing new obstacles for us to hurdle over in order to reach fulfillment but it’s like with every hurdle, the finish line just gets further away.
We still search for self-fulfillment, that feeling of pure happiness and knowledge that we are doing the right thing at the right time. That feeling that no matter what, we added value into the world today and we are so proud of us.
In this article, you will discover what true fulfillment is, and how to achieve self-fulfillment even during tough times.
What Is Self-Fulfilment?
Self-fulfillment is the fulfilment of one’s hopes and ambitions.
Sounds simple enough, to feel fulfilled, you have to achieve your hopes and ambitions and at a glance, that doesn’t seem too hard. But isn’t fulfillment just long term happiness?
Fulfillment vs Happiness
Fulfillment and happiness are not the same thing. Happiness is a temporary state, it happens and it goes away until the next thing makes you happy.
Fulfillment is much more long term, more about the bigger picture. To feel fulfilled doesn’t mean to be happy and joyous all day long everyday. Some days are going to be bad, but if you are doing something you believe in, something you want to do be doing with all of your soul, you will be fulfilled.
It is not a feeling of happiness or sadness, it’s an underlying feeling of complete love. You can love someone and still be annoyed at them, but you know you love them. That is fulfillment.
Why Is Self-Fulfillment Important?
You are reading this because you are struggling, you don’t feel like fulfilled in your life and you are looking for the answer that you’re missing.
When you feel fulfilled in your life, it’s like you are never looking for the emergency escape door, and it is a delicate balance to get it right. When you do find it, you get that warm cosy feeling all the winter movies promise.
Work out What Your Core Values Are
What are your core values and why are they important?
Our core values are the qualities we value most in the world; characteristics we admire or cherish in others.
If you meet someone and they are your type of person and you can’t explain why, you have met someone whose core values are in alignment with yours. For example, if one of your core values is honesty, you will value and like an honest person. Just like if you meet a dishonest person, you will have an unspoken aversion to them.
But how do your core values affect your self-fulfillment?
Who you are defines how you will find fulfillment. If you want to achieve all of your hopes and dreams, it is much easier to find out where to go if you have a road map. Your core values affect every decision, interaction and build up the person you call yourself. You can’t feel fulfilled if you are doing something that goes in direct contradiction to them.
If you are an honest person and you are doing dishonest work, you will not be fulfilled and you will without doubt, be facing adversity within yourself.
How do you find your core values?
There are several ways to work out what your core values are but a quick way is to look at a list of them and pick the ones you relate to the most.
The first key to fulfillment is to live in alignment with your core values, once you start to find them and make adjustments to your life to cut out anything that goes against them, your will start to find your adversity fading away as you embrace a life that you want.