How Hurry Kills Fulfillment
You love fulfillment. In fact, I bet you wish you had more of it.
Fulfillment, simply defined, is the state of being satisfied. Feeling “enough” as one leader in a recent group named it.
A recent Gallup poll revealed that less than half of Americans report being “very satisfied” with their personal lives.
It seems we have an issue.
It also feels like irony. Lack of satisfaction in our culture couldn’t possibly be about lack of quantity and maybe even quality, right?
Never before have we been in a more relentless marathon of “more”. Our lives feel like they’re bursting at the seams right now…often with amazing things.
So why do most of us still feel unfulfilled?
Along the way we’ve conflated fulfillment with expanded capacity. It’s as if we believe “more” automatically equals gratification.
Life may be overflowing for a lot of us, but that doesn’t mean it’s fulfilling.
In fact, what if the “more” and “faster” are the real saboteurs?
The cost of speed and quantity are costing us in spades:
- Reduced presence – the inability to enjoy or take in what’s happening around us
- Superficial accomplishments – we’re celebrating simply getting things done vs caring what they are
- Increased stress and anxiety – a constant rush that is causing negative effects on our health
- Missing opportunities – in focusing on the list in front of us, we miss the big picture and what may be our greatest contribution
- Reduced innovation and creativity – lack of time to think and explore possibilities
- Time to reflect and grow – breathing room to look at the direction we are headed and check in with ourselves
With these costs, there’s got to a better way.
If achieving a fulfilling life isn’t about fast and more, then what are we really talking about?
It’s an unpopular choice, but it has something to do with the opposite.
That something is slower, deeper, and more meaningful. It’s being present with something that really matters to us. It’s in our relationships and experiences. All of which are inherently slow.
When I’m honest with myself, I really struggle with this word. What’s also true is that I believe it ultimately delivers. And that less is actually more, even when it feels a painful and scary in the moment.
The truth is that going slow isn’t the end of the story. It’s simply the part that requires patience and depth and sometimes a lot of frustration. It paves the way for MORE impact. BETTER relationships. BIGGER ideas. GREATER satisfaction.
Slow is the thing that makes us go faster, get stronger, and go deeper.
I’m willing to accept that in this season, I’m going to wrestle with the opposing force of slow. Instead of avoiding what terrifies me about it, I’m going to face it head on and see what it has to offer me.
Because I want what it gives, and I bet you do, too.