Why is It Better for Any Person to Seek Fulfillment than Happiness?

Happiness is a code that all humans have. It is deemed essential and everyone seems to believe it. In fact, it is gained a religion-like reverence that everyone follows.

However, happiness is something that is relatively subjective. It can be big, small, long term or short term. Also, since it is more of a general term, everyone can relate to it. Some common things that make everyone happy are family, career, a good job and money.

Fulfilment on the other hand is something more personal. It is yours and as such, fulfilment for everyone is different. You can experience fulfilment when you pursue something you are passionate about, such as a goal or a dream. Perhaps you are all about helping others such as volunteering or maybe you are that person who engages in activities promoting continuous growth and learning.

If you compare the two, you will notice that fulfilment has a much deeper and longer lasting effect than happiness. Fulfilment is what you need to strive for. Why? Here is why:

Fulfillment is Unique to You

The foremost reason why you should opt for fulfilment is that it is something unique to you. It is something that sets you apart from others around you.

Maybe eating right and exercising is what fulfills you as you know you are doing something right to improve your overall health. Your friend, on the other hand may find workouts not so fulfilling as better health may not be what they are looking for. To them, your workout sessions together may just be a drag.

So while happiness is something that everyone feels the same way about, fulfilment will give you a unique sense of being and purpose. In fact, unlike happiness which is strictly a feeling, fulfilment is something that you attain by investing time and effort. It is a feeling of hard work and dedication that leads to the accomplishment of your goals. In its own way, fulfilment makes you a complete person.

In terms of their time spans, happiness is a fleeting, short term sensation while fulfilment is eternal. Being short-term, happiness isn’t realistically sustainable. After all, how many people do you know who are actually happy all the time? Probably not that many. But when you compare it to fulfilment, you may know quite a few who are very, very content with what they have achieved. This is because the idea of fulfilment makes it okay to not be happy all the time. It tells you that things will be okay even if you are going through a rough patch.

Fulfilment gets etched in your brain and remains with you for a very long time. For example, you do something such as blogging which gives you a feeling of fulfilment.

If being a lifestyle blogger makes you feel fulfilled, you will invest all your creativity and energy into being one.

On the way, you will surely have some bad days. Everyone does. Yet, you will always have the contentment in your heart that you are doing something purposeful.

With happiness, you never know how long you are going to be happy for. If you are happy now, you could hear some upsetting news, making happiness dissipate quickly. Happiness is not as personal since anything can take it away from you in a matter of seconds.

Opposed to that, fulfilment is not affected by incidents, feelings or people. It belongs to you. It is yours and you can keep it for as long as you want. Nothing and no one can steal your sense of fulfilment from you.

Fulfilment Gives Meaning To Success

Being happy with your success is great. However, this feeling will eventually go away. You might have won an Oscar and felt like you are on top of the world at that moment. However, if it is not something that fulfils you, that award is just a miniature statue in your home. On the contrary, if something makes you feel fulfilled, it gives you joy every day. Happiness is simply not sustainable. Fulfilment is. This is why that is what you should aim for.

In addition, if you aim towards fulfilment, you are bound to work hard. If all you want to be is happy, you do not need to do much. Even being with your favorite person can make you happy. Just like that, listening to any song can make you happy. If you are a foodie, a doughnut can brighten up your day. Sometimes, happiness can make you lazy too. Hanging out with someone you like will make you happy. However, it will distract you from things that you are supposed to do.

When you strive for fulfilment, you will get things done on time. You will suddenly get an urge to get things done. At the end of the day, when everything is done, you will feel complete. You will be content knowing that you made something out of your day. Staying in your comfort zone makes you happy but it will not take you anywhere.

To be happy, you can take shortcuts but you cannot do that with fulfilment. This is why you will go the extra mile to be fulfilled.

Furthermore, if you are doing something that fulfils you, you will also be more willing to try new things. You will think of all the ways you can get better at it.

Suppose your job is fulfilling for you.

Now, you will not dread the weekdays. You may even think of your work even during the weekends. This probably explains really well why some people are always immersed in their work. It only happens when you find fulfilment in your work. It makes you content and your life peaceful.

Happiness is Just One Feeling

Happiness is a single feeling. Think of it like a rainbow. It is just one color. On the other hand, fulfilment is made up of so many colors. It is made up of passion, drive, emotion, grieve and failure. You have to go through all that to feel fulfilled. This is what makes fulfilment so special. There is nothing wrong with looking for happiness. But do you want to miss all the colors of the rainbow for just one color?

There are times when you are not exactly happy but you are fulfilled. For example, if you are working for long hours as a doctor, you may not be happy. You may have seen some painful cases throughout the day. You may have even cried when you are a procedure did not go as planned. It could be a day filled with grief, misery and hard work. Yet, at the end of the day, you feel peace at heart. This is because you feel fulfilled. You know that you did something, which completes you. It is your purpose in this world and you do it religiously.

For most, this feeling is enough to keep them going. Even when you may not be happy, the feeling of fulfilment drives you on. When you are fulfilled, you always look for ways to get better.

You must remember that happiness is an important element of life too. However, you can only be truly happy if you live a fulfilling life.