Finding Fulfillment
Over the years, my dreams and aspirations have changed. They’ve changed partially because of circumstances, setbacks and personal experiences, but primarily because of a change in perspective. I feel less ambitious in certain areas — particularly in my profession. Though I ultimately aspire to certain levels of leadership and promotion, it’s no longer what drives me. In fact, I’m not particularly goal-driven in any area of life. My younger self would think this is a symptom of complacency, that I’ve become set in my ways, sleepwalking through life with no objectives. Contrarily, I’ve just refocused my objectives of life. Now, what I desire is fulfillment.
I’ve realized that titles, status, responsibility, and recognition may pay the bills, but they don’t necessarily bring happiness. Even if they do, I can find happiness without them as well. I can be satisfied with less stress and more sanity. For me, fulfillment is satisfaction in a job well done. It’s using my creativity to birth ideas, work diligently at them, and be rewarded by the quality of the result. You won’t always get the pat on the back — in fact, you’ll rarely get a pat on the back – so I’ve learned to be rewarded within. Knowing that I did my best brings peace and pride.
Ultimately, fulfillment is an intrinsic value. It’s being driven by internal goals instead of external rewards.
My favorite rapper, Shad, alluded to this at a TEDx conference. He said that when he’s unsure of what direction he wants to go career-wise, he focuses on the type of person he wants to be, and that brings clarity. It does the same for me. Life throws curve balls at us. We get off track. Our aspirations aren’t permanent — they evolve. But the thing that remains constant is the type of character we want to have. My desire to be loving, selfless, encouraging, inspiring, positive, and honest won’t change. I can always be better in those areas. And the more I develop those characteristics, the work I do and the people I encounter will be enriched. That’s fulfilling.
