Most people I know are busy and often feel overwhelmed. Work is constantly demanding, our lifestyle aspirations have never been greater, and we are exposed to a multitude of things that make us want to keep our options open. This can lead to us skimming the surface of life; experiencing a lot, but never anything deeply. A fulfilling lifestyle is meaningful and something you can enjoy every day. Here are three things you must focus on to find fulfillment.
Develop Self-respect
A fulfilling lifestyle starts within you. Fulfillment does not come from external things like money or fame. Self-respect is a gift you must give yourself. It does not come from brief experiences or from other people. You must face fears of not being good enough and work hard until you conquer whatever ‘giant’ seeks to limit you. It might come from persisting to perfect a skill; from battling to lose weight and get fit; from banishing negative influences; from standing up for yourself so you can carve your own path in life. Or, self-respect may come from finally taking responsibility for your failures and starting from scratch to rebuild your life.
Self-respect starts with a decision. The good news is that you are never too young or too old to start building healthy self-respect. Simply focus on one area of your life and work at it until you make significant progress. Once you do that it will give you the confidence to regain control of other parts of your life. With self-respect, you will be able to focus on what you want in life. You will not allow stories and excuses to hinder your decisions, and you will become more self-aware and understanding of your own needs. You will come to know your strengths and be able to build on them. You will be aware of your weaknesses and be able to accept them. You will become more secure and at peace with yourself. This makes it much easier to discover your passion and purpose in life. Doing the work to build healthy self-respect lays the foundation to create a fulfilling lifestyle. It is where character is built.
Prioritise Self-care
With healthy self-respect, you will be able to prioritise self-care. Self-care is not selfishness, it is simply looking after yourself so you can fulfill your purpose and make a difference on the planet. With self-care you will be able to keep appointments with yourself to rest, exercise, and carve time out of your busy life in order to replenish and renew yourself. You will build margins into your schedule so you are not always rushing; and listen to your body so you can understand and cooperate with your own natural life rhythms to ensure you always have energy.
Implement Self-management
Self-management is all about priorities. When you know your priorities, you rarely have problems with time management. You can focus and get the important things done. You will learn to squeeze non-urgent things (like emails and returning phone calls) into time frames of your choosing. You will find an organisational system that works for your personality. You will give your best time each day to pursuing your goals, not responding to other people’s demands. Self-respect enables you to develop health and security on the inside. Effective self-care strategies enable you to have energy for when you need it in life. You will rarely be running on empty. And effective self-management makes this sustainable, so you can build a fulfilling lifestyle.
