The pursuit of happiness is one that every one of us knows well. But how does one produce their own happiness? Is there some secret recipe that will show us exactly what we need to do in order to be happy forever and ever? Of course not.
However, we can broadly describe happiness as how satisfied you are with your life plus your daily mood. Moods are fickle and susceptible to constant change, so reigning them in to fit into our happiness parameters can be one hell of a job. Instead, we’re going to look at what we can do to increase our satisfaction with life, also known as our feeling of fulfilment.
1. Find something to do in your life that feels worthwhile
Whether it’s a job or a hobby, doing something that you feel makes a difference to the world is a massive step towards feeling fulfilled. In an ideal situation, we’d all have jobs that provided us with this sense of purpose; but for the majority of us, that just isn’t possible! Fear not — it’s not the end of the world if you’re not finding that deep feeling of satisfaction from filling out spreadsheets. You’ll just have to look for it elsewhere.
If your day job isn’t leaving you feeling fulfilled, try to find a hobby that can. The things that we find gratifying vary from person to person, so you may have to try a few things before you find the one that sticks. If you’re a creative soul, you could try taking up art or writing as a hobby. Maybe you want to push yourself and your body, in which case a physical outlet like hiking or a sport could give you a sense of fulfilment.
2. Create meaningful relationships
If you ask most people what gives them happiness in their lives, one of the top answers will be the relationships that they have with others. Having deep bonds with our friends and family is the easiest way to increase happiness. Invest time into those who matter to you, and you will likely find yourself feeling fulfilled.
3. Work on self-improvement
Fulfilment is all about being satisfied with your life, and that starts with being happy with yourself. We all have things about ourselves that we wish to change, and while change isn’t always necessary to feel fulfilled, it can definitely help. Whether you desire to improve yourself mentally or physically, doing so can really enhance your satisfaction in life.
But the journey towards self-improvement only works when you’re the one who sets the standards. Don’t try to fit yourself into molds made by other people or the media. Find areas that you want to improve and work towards them. Setting these goals and working hard to achieve them can help you to feel fulfilled and accomplished.
4. Practice Optimistic Realism (or Realistic Optimism)
A lot of people will tell you to just ‘Be Positive!’ in order to lead a happy and fulfilled life, but I think that can fail in two ways. Firstly, some people (myself included) are just not naturally positive people, so this advice can feel useless and alienating. Secondly, some people may take positivity too far and expect that they can get to where they want on a good attitude alone.
This is why I propose a compromise: optimistic realism. It gives you the best of both worlds; the positivity of an optimist paired with the wisdom and work-ethic of a realist. By being an optimistic realist, you can hope for the best outcome while preparing for the worst. This can make your life happier overall by allowing you to take the bad with the good. Because not everything works out the way we want, but that doesn’t mean that our lives aren’t fulfilling.
5. Be grateful
This one is important for those of us who have so many plans for the future, that we forget to pay attention to our present. Some people find that keeping a gratitude journal can help them appreciate what they love about their lives and this even makes them happier. Making the conscious effort to be grateful for the good in your life enhances your sense of fulfilment, because it makes you focus on the positive rather than the negative. A by-product of this also shows you how lucky you really are.
Putting it all into practice
The hard part, as always, is putting all of this theory into practice. But you don’t have to do it alone! If in doubt, WellBe has coordinators who can guide you towards life coaches or extra resources to help you find yourself. Do something today that your future self will thank you for.
Written by Adena Dewar
WellBe is spearheading the way to a brighter future for corporate wellness. Our innovative portal is scientifically designed and tailored to each individual employee to improve their wellbeing. We specialise in a range of services from coaching and therapists, to meditation and reading materials. Our aim is to reduce workplace stress that costs UK businesses £42 billion per year. Get in touch with us by visiting our site wellbe.global for more information.
