Category: Feeling Fulfilled

Nothing will give life “problems” perspective like hearing a good friend with Stage 4 cancer—eyes swollen with tears—say, “I am just so thankful for each day…”

I hope this is never something you have to hear.

But, if you imagine you did, like I did, you might leave this short reading with a life perspective that’s costing somebody else the threat of their life to gain.

…And all you need to do is shut up the noise… and really hear.

People will pay thousands and thousands of dollars for a comfortable seat in an airplane. And, generally speaking, will cherish every moment of it when they think about what they might’ve had to sit in in comparison.

What if you could channel that same appreciation when you sit in a comfortable seat in your house or at work? Generally speaking, the seats you sit in daily are probably more comfortable than even the nicest ones on some airlines…

Appreciation is an attitude. It’s a mindset. It’s a perspective. And you don’t have to pay thousands and thousands of dollars to obtain it. Generally speaking, all you need to do is… change your mind.

Speaking of gratitude, my toilet is broken.

It won’t stop running and YouTube wasn’t helping, so I’m manually opening and closing the stop valve after each use—which is now leaking when open—and my plumber won’t be here until Friday.

It’s incredible how much we can get used to modern miracles and how removed they can get from our consciousness day-in and day-out.

Like, I can’t tell you the last time I stopped and felt gratitude for having a working toilet.

Imagine how different the day might be if we were able to notice and actually appreciate even 10% of the modern miracles we’ve unknowingly been taking for granted?

…Imagine how different the day might be if that percent jumped to 20? Or 30?

Imagine if you replaced 10-30% of your anxious or worrisome thoughts with gratitude and presence instead…

Might be worth trying to do throughout this very day.

I experienced a powerful moment of gratitude today after having spoken to two parents in the martial arts school I teach at.

One of them was telling me that after finally getting his medications correct, he was able to take a deep breath for the first time in about a month and a half.

…A month and a half.

And another one, who was sitting next to him, was telling me about her foot surgery and how her plans of halving the estimated recovery time, was actually looking more like it was going to be double what was estimated… and that, after getting her other foot done, she wouldn’t be able to walk normally again until around summer next year.

…Summer next year.

We’re talking about breathing and walking here.

Two things I know I take for granted more than I’d like to admit.

But, at least in that moment and maybe this one right now, I didn’t.

I walked a little more mindfully and took a deliberate and fulfilling couple of deep breaths.

…Something maybe you can try and do throughout your day today, too.

The goal is to build something that doesn’t need escaping from.

…Because escaping only lasts so long before your innate desire to build something arises again.

And not because we humans love to work—because we don’t.

But because we human crave fulfillment—and what’s worse than work is feeling like you’re living an empty type of existence.

So, back to work we go… because fulfillment is something building provides. Here’s how:

Building is growth—what else is building, but combining a bunch of lesser parts into some type of a greater whole?

Building is contribution—the value that’s added from this lesser parts combination becomes a creation that at the very least, serves you, which helps you to then serve others.

Building is connection/love—connecting parts, connecting minds, connecting resources, connecting ideas, connecting hearts…

Building is significance—whether it’s solely yours to build or you’re a part of a team that’s building somebody else’s dream… you get to leave your fingerprints on something that otherwise wouldn’t exist.

Building is certainty—it allows you to plan, dream, draw, shape, and mold something that starts out abstract and slowly becomes a tangible part of reality.

Building is uncertainty—and then, of course, things never go perfectly according to plan, so you get to adjust, pivot, problem-solve, fire fight, and learn by doing in an unpredictable way.

The real question you need to be grappling with isn’t—how can I escape from this work.

The real question you need to be grappling with is—how can I better incorporate each of these above elements into the work I’m choosing to do?