Why You’re NOT Fulfilled
I just had lunch with one of the smartest, most accomplished, self-aware men I’ve ever met. He was born into a life of luxury that was turned upside down in his early teens when his country became war-torn as a political hotbed. He literally went from having anything he could dream of to having nowhere to sleep.
As he grew to the wise man he is today, he engaged in quite a lot of study. Beyond studying politics and the health sciences, he studied personal development. He studied himself and his own reactions to the troubles around him.
We connected because we have our philosophies in common. Over lunch we discussed how circumstances are 100% up to the individual to choose to respond to. We talked about response vs. reaction.
And as we talked about my new project that stems from my #1 International Best-Selling Book, Dynamic Transitions (yes, I’m proud) we talked about why people feel so unfulfilled.
That’s this week’s Wednesdays With Wayne: why you don’t feel fulfilled. In our conversation, we bantered about the term “Emotional Inflation.” So much of what gives us markers of success is outside of ourselves. We want the new clothes, car, house, TV, couch, and even food. Online shopping makes that so easy now because comfort is delivered.
Look around the space you’re in right now. Right Now… How much of what you are looking at existed 50 to 75 years ago? In my space, as I write, I have a digital TV (not on) a DVD rack, yoga mats, and through the next doorway, my washer and dryer. Even the tissue box on the side table that has tissues with infused lotion for softness wouldn’t have existed. The ONLY things in my current space that might have existed, at least in concept, more than a few decades ago are the fireplace and the coffee table. Even the kind of loveseat I’m sitting on while using my laptop wouldn’t have existed because of the sofa-bed design and materials used.
Everything in my space is comfort-based. Everything. And I’m guessing that’s true for you, too.
So what?
We’ve come to need these things. We want better. We want more. And the truth is, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to Have More, Be More, and ultimately to Serve More. If we’re not seeking to move forward, we’re back-sliding and I’ve built my DynamicLeader® business on helping people break through to their next level of “more.”
If it’s okay to be comfortable and have more, what’s the problem?
The problem is that we have grown dependent on things outside of ourselves for comfort and fulfillment. And the truth is, I can go without TV, DVDs, and yoga mats. It’s by seeking that next great thing (I’m pretty happy with the washer and dryer that can do all kinds of tricks), we get fulfillment. So it’s the next great thing and the next great thing. And in that push for getting more, we engage in Emotional Inflation. By taking the get/buy/have path, it takes so much more – a constant state of acquisition – to feel better about ourselves.
Remedy? Sit. Get back to simple.
In my teaching others how to Have More, Be More, and Serve More, a lot of the work is about inner satisfaction not external acquisition.
How do you respond if your TV breaks? What about your washer? Or… your computer?
Get back to simple. I know this is the Wednesdays With Wayne and that makes it mid-week. Take some time today, and then again this weekend, to sit with a pen and paper. Write a bit. What matters to you?
What do you value?
What values have you carried forward?
Now, look around. What about where you are is truly fulfilling your values?
Do you NEED the latest and greatest? Or, do you need to find something more fulfilling by doing a little more inner work. Don’t feed Emotional Inflation. The interest rates get too high.
Do the inner work.
Check your values.
And, exciting news, if you didn’t get your copy of Dynamic Transitions on kindle, it’s now available in paperback! Click here! https://amzn.to/2JLWvcr
Until next time, as always, Keep Making Your Magic™!
~ Dr P ~