Do We Need to Seek Approval to Feel Fulfilled?
What is fulfillment in life? Do we need the approval of others to achieve fulfillment? Does our smile need to be returned to feel satisfaction?
Sometimes people experience fulfillment as the achievement of a goal or milestone. Maybe you finally bought that new car you always wanted. I have heard fulfillment described as “the feeling that you’ve made it.” For me the attainment of a goal is hollow unless people are helped by that achievement.
Is it enough to know within ourselves that we have helped someone, without positive feedback or acknowledgement? Are we ok with the uplifting effect of a good deed that ripples out to unknown recipients?
Are we ok with the uplifting effect of a good deed that ripples out to unknown recipients?
I sometimes struggle with this. I have found that it takes practice to be positive, and the work is rewarding. Take grocery shopping for example, one of the great mundane tasks of our 20th century life. On my way to the store, I can feel gratitude and appreciate my car that gets me around and enjoy some beautiful music. I can smile at fellow shoppers and ask how the clerk is doing. I admit I don’t always feel like I have the energy to do this. I have found that by practicing being present and positive, I can experience fulfillment.
Consider that you are the artist, making a piece of art which is your life with the tools and mediums you have been given. It is how you express yourself, from the daily acts of raising a child, working, or going to the grocery store. As Charles Eisenstein says in the documentary “And the Music Played the Band”, the artist does not do work to please the art critic. If as artists we create to please others, it is a “sellout.” Then the expression is not from the heart and will not result in fulfillment.
Consider that you are the artist, making a piece of art which is your life with the tools and mediums you have been given.
By being positive and expressing ourselves through acts of kindness or service, we can be in a place of fulfillment. Enjoying our work of art requires being in the current moment and appreciating our heart expression, knowing that our work positively impacts others. We don’t need an “atta boy”, a trophy or a pat on the back to feel satisfaction.