Leave “Always Striving, Never Arriving” Behind
Seeking Vs. Expressing Fulfillment
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Seeking Vs. Expressing Fulfillment ---
Psychiatrist and author Viktor Frankl spent his life exploring purpose. In his books Man’s Search for Meaning and The Will to Meaning, he asserts that Life itself is questioning every human being, “Will you create a purpose to live from and live for? Will you bring purpose to your everyday existence no matter the circumstance in which you find yourself?” In my book, Intentional, I write that without purpose, human beings “fail to use our creative power as a contribution in the world. Without purpose, we abuse ourselves and others, devolving into distraction, destruction and despair.”
Instinctively, we desire fulfillment of purpose—so we look for it in our careers, relationships, offspring, successes, and good deeds for others. But ultimately, as long as fulfillment of purpose remains something we seek externally, it is temporary at best and elusive at worst; the quintessential “always striving, never arriving” dilemma. It doesn't actually work.
There is another option: fulfillment as an act of creation, not consumption.
When you do the work to discover and cultivate your purpose, giving it fullness of life on the inside of you, it will pour out in your every thought, word, and action. You will be fulfilled in every circumstance and situation.
Book: Man’s Search For Meaning
Better yet, you will bring fulfillment to every circumstance and situation. This is what it means to express fulfillment rather than seek it. You will live from “already fulfilled” as your natural way of being. You will no longer be dependent on outer conditions to provide it for you. No one and nothing can steal or withhold it from you. You will always have more than enough fulfillment as a creator rather than a seeker.
The key, then, is to stop seeking and start creating. When you do, your everyday life will be the authentic expression of constant fulfillment that can’t be contained.
“You will always have more than enough fulfillment as a creator rather than a seeker.”
Knowing this, what will you do differently this week?
May you prosper in every way!
Becky & TPL Team
52 Maxims of Conscious Choosing To Create the Deeply Satisfying Life You Desire.