I used to want to be an example of success; someone who inspires others to achieve more in their lives. I’ve somewhat modified that goal over the years, and now I just want to be an example of fulfillment.
In our culture, success and fulfillment seem to go hand in hand as descriptors for the same basic outcome. To me, however, success almost always implies some type of financial gain, or widespread recognition for some accomplishment. Fulfillment, on the other hand, connotes a feeling that is more personal and less dependent upon outer influences.
I want to be an example of fulfillment and inspire others to appreciate more in their lives right where they are in this moment. This might appear that I am telling folks to settle and to not strive for betterment for themselves and their circumstances. This is not the case at all. It’s just a matter of perspective.
By chasing success, the focus is on some future outcome that is expected to bring us fulfillment and happiness when we achieve whatever we set out to do. It’s easier to get trapped into the type of thinking that begins with, “I’ll be happy when…” or “Everything will be perfect when…”
With these beliefs, we place our feelings of fulfillment at some fuzzy point in the future, although these feelings are available to us now and can only be experienced in the “now”.
We pay lip service to the belief that true happiness and fulfillment come from within, but then our behavior and words show contradictory notions. Thinking about fulfillment as something that is achievable only in the future makes it a condition that is determined by external loci as opposed to our inner being.
Fulfillment happens when have gratitude and appreciation for the present moment. This does not mean negating your desire for your future goals, but simply being satisfied with the progress you’re making now and the path you’re on now to the same extent that you will be when you do actualize your goals.
If you are temporarily broke now and wish to be wealthy in the future, be mentally wealthy and appreciate what you have now. When you already have a wealthy mindset and you feel wealthy, your consciousness will be more aware of opportunities for wealth when they arise and you will be more prepared.
That is how our minds work. Think back to the time when you first got a new car. Before you got the car, you may have noticed one or two of the same make and model on the streets every now and then. But as soon as you got your baby, you were like, “Damn, does everyone drive a Focus?”
Maybe, a Focus wasn’t the car you had in mind, but you get the point.
Success as we conceptualize it implies a frame of reference to the future.
Fulfillment is now. Start from a place of fulfillment by taking gauge of your present life and appreciating it, no matter what your circumstances are.
Look for the good and start from a mental position that prioritizes and focuses only on the good.
Be who and what you want to be right now with your thoughts, and you will be ripe for materializing whatever it is that you have in mind.
Fulfillment exists in the present and is something that anyone can have, despite any recognizable displays of our culture’s version of success.
Art of Sleeping Awake 