Seven Steps to Live and Maintain a Purposeful and Fulfilled Life.
Step 1: Find Your Purpose (Why) (3 Options)
Internal: You are seeking self-satisfaction in the sense that the end goal is you and you only. For instance, being rich, having a lot of money, etc…
External: You are focused on doing something that benefits everyone or everything else but you. For instance, believing that your purpose in life is to make other people happy. You would go extra mile and do anything hoping that people will be happy with your deeds.
Combination: Something personal that deeply impacted your life and you make it a mission for preventing other to suffering the same pain your endured or creating the conditions so that other can have the pleasant experience that lived through.
Step 2: Understanding the notion of Fulfillment (Where)
Fulfillment Definitions:
The achievement of something desired, promised, or predicted.
Satisfaction of happiness as a result of fully developing one’s abilities or character
Notion: Regardless of how one sees it, there is no fulfillment without a promise, in other words only promises are fulfilled.
Promises are expressed in terms of talents, potentials, aptitudes, capacities, or possibilities. With promises we start believing or assuming that something should, could or will happen in a way that we conceive it to unfold. People use promises to form expectations or to anticipate outcomes. The degree of expectations or anticipations are subject to personal experiences.
Examples of Expectations:
Marriage: Someone who is actively looking for a marriage will get into a relation expecting that it will lead to a proposal, and then marriage.
Money: Someone who takes a paid job expects a salary after they satisfy the requirements.
Education: Someone who goes through training expects to gain more knowledge after satisfactorily completing the requirements.
Examples of Anticipation:
Graduation: Trying to experience the feeling of happiness that you will get by seeing yourself graduating
Marriage: Someone who proposes with a ring anticipates a resounding “Yes!”
Step 3: Self-Identify (Who)
You must understand who you are as person by asking the question “Who am I” and then answering that question in multiple “I am” Statements. Understand that these statements will change as we change because our perception of our surrounding will change as we change. Things that we value today may no longer seem valuable tomorrow. In addition to having our “I am” statement, one must also have clear principles and clear values.
Principles: Principles are personal things that will never change. For instance, Respect, Love, Justice.
Values: Values are the things that change over time but make it easy for us to preserve the integrity of our core principles. For instance, being kind, patient, tolerant will only make sense investing energy for specific types of individuals while others are simply not worth considering such investment.
Principles and Values are interchangeable therefore one must define their own personal Core Values that will be their Principles.
Step 4: Action (What)
What I type of activities that we need to be involved in and that will allow who we are fulfill the promise that we that we represent. The Natural way for identifying the “What” is to simply follow our passion. Basically, do something that we are genuinely passionate about regardless of what other people think.
Step 5: Personify your Alignment Between Why, Who, What (How)
In order to align everything, you must know the only three (3) tools at your disposal to help you achieve your goal.
Thoughts. Your thought process need be in tune with who you believe you are and why
Words. How you talk should be consistent with who you are, what you do, and why you do it
Action. How you behave should be consistent with who you are, what you do, and why you do it
Step 6: Time (When)
Many people don’t really understand the notion of Time. Ask anyone the question: What time is it and watch. Everyone without exception will take a look a watch or clock and say “The Time is…”. The answer is divided into two (2): The statement “The Time is…” and the measurement thereafter. Most people don’t understand that what comes after the statement “The time is…” nothing but the way we measure our progress in time. The time itself doesn’t change that is why the statement “The time is …” hasn’t and will not change but we are the ones constantly changing. To read more about time “Become a Time Management Master for Life.”
The only point where we connect with time is the current moment, that is why is the gift of time to us literally called “Present”. No one can take one step forward or backward in time. With that in mind, the only best time to implement everything that you have worked to build so far is now because it is truly the only time anyone has. Once it is gone, it is gone. If you did nothing at that moment, you will only be left with regrets but if you did your best you are satisfied and grateful.
Step 7: Maintaining a Purposeful and Fulfilled Life
Maintenance in finding ways to be consistent. Understand that everyone, including you only have two things to deal with in their entire life.
Things that are outside of your control
Other people: Family, Friends, Strangers
Nature: Everything that maintains and regulates life: The whether
Things: Everything that is man-made: Money, cars, etc…
Things that are within your control
Thoughts
Words
Action
Your maintenance consists on using you freewill to decide where to invest your limited amount of energy either in things that are within your control or things that are outside of your control.
If you invest your energy in things that are outside of your control, you must understand that disappointment, frustrations, and similar feeling are real possible outcomes.
If you invest your energy in the things that are within your control, then just do your best by focusing on your effort as opposed to the outcomes since that too is outside of your control.