3 Cues You Need a More Fulfilling Life and How to Get it
“We only get to play this game one time…one life.” — Gary Vee
Imagine being happy with your days, months, and your life. When you don’t have to stress about why your colleague took credit for your work or why your boss isn’t recognising you. At the back of your head, you wish you generate more wealth or have a side-hustle but your days are so tiring and there's only so much you can do. But hey, do you see anybody else living differently? This is just how it is, or so we’re told.
Sometimes we have subtle signs which scream for a change, but our head is often in a different place to even notice. Society thrives in making us feel this way; they make us too busy to even notice that we’re not living anymore.
Tell me, do we really need 9 hours a day to get work done? Is it even possible to work for 9 hours with full productivity?
Society thrives in making us feel this way; they make us too busy to even notice that we’re not living anymore.
9-hour workdays are there in a way to push us to an extent that the stress and not doing things you love gets normalised. And hey, I’m not anti-corporate jobs, I think they’re great and come with a lot of advantages.
I’m only trying to tell you that there may be ways your soul is screaming for a change and it's going unnoticed. The best (and worst) part about the human mind is that our repressed feelings pop up in our thoughts and behaviours, so we really can recognise them.
Let’s look at some thoughts and behaviours which may be cues you need a change.
1. You don’t feel you’re making an impact
And non-millennials cringe when we say this. People call millennials crazy for leaving jobs too early because they don’t feel like they’re making an impact. Is it not just basic (and appreciable) human behaviour to feel good by doing good?
Imagine they normalised making an impact and gave us 1 hour a day to pursue things that fill our soul. This could be teaching somebody who needs help, writing a blog post about our struggles and recovery in hopes somebody out there will benefit, reading a book that can help us become better at what we do.
But that’s just an ideal world because the actual world wants you to be mechanical.
Luckily, it's 2021, and you don’t have to succumb and drown in norms. Be proud that you feel this way instead of being upset when you’re put down for feeling this way.
To Do
Try to indulge in activities that make you feel good and impactful. This could be tutoring kids on Sunday afternoons or spending an hour before sleeping to upskill yourself towards your dream career. We’re so lucky to live in a time when skills and opportunities are a few taps away on our screen.
2. You feel there’s something greater in store for you
And when you tell this to people, they’ll think you’re entitled. You’re no different, the struggles you’re experiencing right now in university or work is not something only for you. Many people have felt this way and pushed through and are now in great places in life.
What's great for somebody else may not fit the definition of great for you, and that’s okay.
Society is obsessed with safety and processes, they want our trajectories to be in a certain way because it's always been that way. It's a proven method to greatness… for their definition of greatness.
I always felt like a misfit, no matter what I did.
I already had a fancy degree in my pocket, but I’d keep searching for what more could I do. I looked up PhD programs and fancy jobs, but teaching children in Bali sounded much more exciting!
But what did I do about it? Nothing, and carried on with my day. But I want you to do this differently and not be as late as me.
To Do
Take time out to experiment with things that scare you.
Upload that YouTube video, write that blog post, journal in your personal diary, tweet to that person you admire and want to learn from. These do not need to be your career trajectories, but will get you out of your safety bubble and will give you more courage. And once you feel that strength, one thing leads to another.
For me, it was reading about the life of people I admire, which made me quit a traditional job and settle for the gig economy.
3. You constantly feel you’re left behind, and others are doing better
We put our best parts of life up for people to see. Funnily, even these ‘best parts’ have added filters on them to make them look even better. Sitting on the beach and working may not nearly be as fun as it looks.
I mean, does nobody think of the sun messing with the laptop screen and the reflection hitting their eyes?
It’s normal for us to feel bad when we feel everybody is ahead of us and is doing well in life. But we won’t feel that way if we were content with our own work and lives.
Before I became a writer, I felt like I was left behind. I even got a better job in a better company, one that was wealthy and could enable me to travel the world and do monumental work. It set me for life, according to everybody except me.
We feel this way because when something is missing, and even when we don't know what that something is, we feel a sense of lack. Even if you get the same jobs as those you feel are doing well, you’ll still feel a lack.
That’s because you’re just not in the right place, and that doesn’t mean something is wrong. It just means you need to take a step left or right and reach a place where you really belong.
To Do
Understand what really makes you feel that you’re not as good.
Think of what is it you’d want to do which will make you feel happy and lead the life you want. This step is less vague and is easy to pursue when the first two steps are accomplished because they already put you on the road towards your destination.
Takeaway
What you’re feeling could feel messed up right now, but is a good thing.
It is a trigger from your inner self to you, telling you to make a few wonderful changes to live with a greater sense of contentment. And hey, life is short, so you might as well live it bloody well.
“We only get to play this game one time…one life.” — Gary Vaynerchuk
Here are some things you could be feeling which are cues you need a shift, and they all have solutions to them.
You don’t feel you’re making an impact: try to indulge in activities that make you feel good and impactful.
You feel like there’s something greater in store for you: experiment with things that scare you to develop the courage to step out of your comfort zone.
You constantly feel you’re left behind and others are doing better: understand what really makes you feel that you’re not as good; think of what is it you’d want to do, which will make you feel happy and lead the life you want.
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