How to Live a Fulfilling Life
HOW TO LIVE A FULFILLING LIFE
1. BE MINDFUL
A fulfilling life consists of purposeful, positive and pleasant participation in life.
Be attentive to yourself, others and your environment.
Dont ruminate on the past or worry about the future.
Be mindful of the past so you can learn from it.
Be mindful of the future so you can prepare for it.
Be mindful of the present because living takes place in the present continuous.
Do not crave or cling to all that is impermanent. Be mindful and content in the present continuous.
Be mindful of the truth and be mindful of what is right and what is wrong.
2. BE GRATEFUL
Always be grateful for all that is good about your life and about the lives of other living things. Always remember that things could have been worse but are not. Be grateful that life is not worse than it is.
Be grateful for the present.
It is easier to see whats missing than whats in.
Strive to see whats in, value it and be grateful for it.
Be grateful for the past and all you can learn from it to create a better future.
Be grateful for the opportunity to plan and prepare for the future.
3. BE OPTIMISTIC
You have already been mindful and grateful. Now, be optimistic that whatever happens in the future you can continue to be mindful and grateful.
Then, be optimistic that you can also be compassionate, constructive and balanced.
4. BE COMPASSIONATE
Be compassionate towards yourself.
Be compassionate towards other sentient beings.
Dont condemn yourself.
Dont condemn other sentient beings.
Examine and evaluate sensory perceptions, interpretations, thoughts, emotions, words, actions and omissions. But do not condemn any sentient being.
Value yourself and others and help yourself and others to grow.
5. BE CONSTRUCTIVE
The past is gone, and the future is not yet here. The time to live is right here, right now.
By reading these words you are already doing something positive and helpful.
Now, think of what else you could do to help yourself and others. It can be anything legal that helps you and others to live and to enjoy being alive. It can be as simple as sharing this method of living a fulfilling life.
Remember, it is better to light a candle in the dark than to complain about the darkness.
6. BE BALANCED
Life works best when everything is in optimum balance. Both too much and too little can be harmful.
There are as many paths through life as there are lives. Only you can find and live your path through life. If you can, help others find and live their paths through life.
Happiness comes from matching your activities with your abilities. There must be a balance between activities and rest, between doing and being.
Your life is your responsibility. It is your responsibility to keep yourself safe, legal and ethical.
Happiness is not a destination its a journey that is made moment by moment.
We are all interdependent and impermanent. Look after your long-term interests and the long-term interests of others.
1. BE MINDFUL
A fulfilling life consists of purposeful, positive and pleasant participation in life.
Be attentive to yourself, others and your environment.
Dont ruminate on the past or worry about the future.
Be mindful of the past so you can learn from it.
Be mindful of the future so you can prepare for it.
Be mindful of the present because living takes place in the present continuous.
Do not crave or cling to all that is impermanent. Be mindful and content in the present continuous.
Be mindful of the truth and be mindful of what is right and what is wrong.
2. BE GRATEFUL
Always be grateful for all that is good about your life and about the lives of other living things. Always remember that things could have been worse but are not. Be grateful that life is not worse than it is.
Be grateful for the present.
It is easier to see whats missing than whats in.
Strive to see whats in, value it and be grateful for it.
Be grateful for the past and all you can learn from it to create a better future.
Be grateful for the opportunity to plan and prepare for the future.
3. BE OPTIMISTIC
You have already been mindful and grateful. Now, be optimistic that whatever happens in the future you can continue to be mindful and grateful.
Then, be optimistic that you can also be compassionate, constructive and balanced.
4. BE COMPASSIONATE
Be compassionate towards yourself.
Be compassionate towards other sentient beings.
Dont condemn yourself.
Dont condemn other sentient beings.
Examine and evaluate sensory perceptions, interpretations, thoughts, emotions, words, actions and omissions. But do not condemn any sentient being.
Value yourself and others and help yourself and others to grow.
5. BE CONSTRUCTIVE
The past is gone, and the future is not yet here. The time to live is right here, right now.
By reading these words you are already doing something positive and helpful.
Now, think of what else you could do to help yourself and others. It can be anything legal that helps you and others to live and to enjoy being alive. It can be as simple as sharing this method of living a fulfilling life.
Remember, it is better to light a candle in the dark than to complain about the darkness.
6. BE BALANCED
Life works best when everything is in optimum balance. Both too much and too little can be harmful.
There are as many paths through life as there are lives. Only you can find and live your path through life. If you can, help others find and live their paths through life.
Happiness comes from matching your activities with your abilities. There must be a balance between activities and rest, between doing and being.
Your life is your responsibility. It is your responsibility to keep yourself safe, legal and ethical.
Happiness is not a destination its a journey that is made moment by moment.
We are all interdependent and impermanent. Look after your long-term interests and the long-term interests of others.
Comments (30)
I would really like to see some statistics about the writes of these ideas to see if they have achieved what they preach using the ideas they tell others to use. Or whether they attain a fulfilling life off of the profit from the books.
Isn't this the self-help Ouroboros in action? The more unhappy people seem to be, the more the market peddles solutions.
Quoting Sir2u
Well Jordan Peterson, a recent prime example, has become one of the richest, unhappy men on the planet. Not that long ago, he nearly died following a benzo addiction and a nervous breakdown. Alan Watts, an influential early self-help figure and counter culture icon tackled his sorrows with booze rather than the spiritual teachings he was famous for. I remember meeting a rather famous Buddhist teacher here who drank close to a bottle of Johnnie Walker a day and seemed untouched by his own teachings.
I suspect that those who can, do, those who can't, teach. But that doesn't mean what they teach is useless. It would be a logical fallacy to argue that someone who is flawed can't also be a conduit for wisdom.
It was more of a "do they practice what they preach" thought than an actual question.
The bible is a collection of life guides that was collected from many ancient cultures. A lot of the books that are sold are on a similar line. When someone digs up these books in a few thousand years, what will they think about us? Probably that we were a bunch of wild savages living on base instincts.
I met one that explained to a group of teachers that the act of chewing gun was the equivalent of masturbation, while continually chewing her pen while listening to people talk.
Ok. In that case, no they often don't.
Quoting Sir2u
I particularly appreciate the advice it provides me on how to select and treat my slaves. :wink:
I think the advice about raising kids is spot on, bigger sticks should then mean better kids.
That is in the OT, so more up Jew's alley.
I find it surprising that nowhere here it is mentioned the security of a permanent place to live. Fix this one first, then move on to other things.
Maslow's theory actually explains it -- satisfy the basic needs first, then aim for the self-fulfillment.
lol. :smile: Okay, sorry if you misunderstood my comment. I meant, as opposed to homelessness or at the mercy of whoever has an available couch. Renting is a permanent place to live. You have the right to be there.
Imho, I think, in order to live every (or most) day(s) in a "fulfilling" way, one has to learn how to enjoy satisfy oneself with boredom and being alone by unlearning the habit (vice) of "purpose" social status-seeking / ambition. Without purpose, there's no "now what?" (i.e. dukkha, angst). Only 'being useless' is sovereign (i forget who said that); consider content (healthy) elderly persons and (well-kept) toddlers. Wu wei is the way (Laozi, Zhuangzi). Thus, very few are ever "fulfilled" ...
:death: :flower:
No problem at all, in a nicer kind of world that doesn't have so many miserables.
It seems not to suit everyone. Including myself: I don't eat meat, but I cook with eggs (they come from the free-range hens next door) and some cheese. So did Epicurus. I don't think strict veganism is necessary for a healthy diet, but I do take care cause as little pain as possible, within the confines of modern industrial life. Many people would feel utterly unfulfilled without their steak, bacon and fried chicken, so I'm not sure what dietary choices that do not contribute to ill humour or health are doing here.
So... why are you so keen to teach us how to live, anyway?
Will you just shut up about this literal translation of everything that's being discussed here?
Obviously, fulfillment in living arrangement includes with it the long-term sustainability of having your own place. If you're getting kicked out, evicted, thrown out, then you still do not have a permanent habitat.
Quoting Vera Mont
Due to my own doing, I no longer look at food for pleasure. I find it cumbersome to eat a multiple-course meal. In fact, at times, I find organizing the meal cumbersome or eating multiple things on the table too much work. So, I tend to be a minimalist when it comes to preparing my meals.
Quoting 180 Proof
Wise words. Most people would never understand this.
Due to all the suffering, unfairness and deaths in the world. I long to make all living things forever happy but I can't.
So, you preach to the choir, much as some of us write poems, novels and letters. Good enough.