Satisfaction or Fulfillment?

Many of us remember jamming to Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones as he lamented about not getting any satisfaction in a tune entitled, (I can’t get no)Satisfaction. I wonder if he really meant “satisfaction,” or was it a deeper yearning for fulfillment that was actually eluding him?

This week I’d like to look at the distinction between being satisfied with your life, or being fulfilled in your life.
Satisfaction is the senstaion that you feel when your needs are met. Like the feeling you get when you’ve just completed an important project, or even when you’ve finished a good meal.

Fulfillment, however, is the deeper, more soul-oriented feeling you may experience  when you are expressing your values in your work and in your life, as in “being fully yourself.” For example, when artists are creating, they often expereince fulfillment in their work. They are expressing themselves. When artists get appreciation for their work, they may feel satisfied, but not fulfilled. Both are positive to experience, yet fulfillment tends to be a richer experience based on a true expression of who you are.

So how about you? Where in your life do you feel a sense of satisfaction, and where do you experience a sense of fulfillment? Take a moment to answer which you feel in the following areas:

Area of my Life:                       Satisfaction or Fulfillment?
Work
Family
Friends
Finances
Health
This week I invite you to choose one area and begin moving from satisfaction to fulfillment:
My one area: ___________________________________________________________________
What it would take to move to fulfillment in that area: ___________________________________
What I will do this week to begin moving to fulfillment: __________________________________