By Garry Knight from London, England (Gentle Exercise) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
What is Fulfillment?
Based on my fifteen years coaching people and groups, I’ve developed a model of fulfillment. It consists of three overlapping components:
- Doing something of value. Something meaningful. Making a contribution to the world, to your family, to your company, and/or to yourself.
- Being satisfied, content, gratified. Doing something that makes you happy or brings you joy.
- Getting things done. Completion. Accomplishment. Achievement.
When something gives us two of these elements, it feels that much better. When something gives us all three, it is fully fulfilling.
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Activity: Take a few moments to make three lists:
* What makes you happy?
* What gives you meaning?
* What are you accomplishing?
Circle any item that you’ve put on all three lists: this is the key to your fulfillment.
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We are aware of our fulfillment at different levels:
* in life in general
* in our professional activities
* in our personal life (domestic, social, romantic, physical/fitness, learning/education/personal growth, spiritual)
* in our creative endeavors
Self-Assessment
Complete the following chart. On a scale of 1 – 10, to what extent are you:
| In My Personal life | In My Professional Activities | In My Creative Endeavors | In My Life, Overall | |
| Doing things that are meaningful/ valuable to me | ||||
| Doing things that are meaningful/ valuable to others | ||||
| Feeling satisfied/ gratified/happy/ joy | ||||
| Getting things done; accomplishing things; achieving things |
What patterns do you see?
What implications are there for your present fulfillment?
What insights are there for your future fulfillment?
Your highest numbers indicate those aspects of your life that give you the most fulfillment. Your lowest numbers indicate areas that offer opportunities to feel more fulfilled, going forward.
For example, imagine if your work is meaningful to yourself and others and gives you joy…but you’re not accomplishing much. Any efforts you can put into figuring ways to get things done will enhance the fulfillment you feel.
If your personal life is rich and happy but your professional life is not satisfying, then what opportunities are there to enrich your professional life?
Once you have a snapshot of what gives you meaning, joy, and accomplishment in your life — and what doesn’t — you can take steps, accordingly. You can give more attention to those things you find meaningful or gratifying. You can get more done. You can give less attention to things that are unimportant or unpleasant or unproductive. You can nudge yourself towards a more fulfilled life.
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