According to St. Augustine, our hearts are restless until they rest in God. This implies that our hearts will only rest when they rest in God. Moreover, as long as one is alive, it is not possible to be in a complete restful situation. The Cambridge Dictionary defines the word ‘fulfil’ as to do something that is expected, hoped for, or promised, or to cause it to happen. This definition does not in its entirety refer to the positive accomplishment of one’s purpose or goals, instead, it gives room for the ongoing process of striving to achieve those goals.
Since time immemorial, human beings have been striving to fulfil their life goals and missions. When people embark on specific tasks and their results match their expectations, they tend to be fulfilled. However, does that really define or equal the term fulfilment? If otherwise, can a person really be fulfilled or attain fulfilment? This article attempts to offer an explanation in a layman’s way.
It is in every human’s nature to fulfil his or her ambitions in life, but due to the different life situations we face, things do not usually go our way. This has continued to be a struggle, especially in today’s cruel world. For many people, fulfilment simply means happiness; this implies that when one is happy, regardless of their experiences or situations, they are fulfilled. Having said this, it makes way for the question, what makes someone happy? This question is very important because we know how temporal happiness can be sometimes. However, it is good to be positive as there are a number of genuine reasons to be happy. When asked what fulfilment means to her, one of my social media friends simply said, ‘being happily married and enjoying life.’ For her, fulfilment means finding a good husband and the rest follows. This makes it all the more obvious how we all have relative approaches toward fulfilment.
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In all that people go through, we all hope for better results and so it is very important to wish everyone you meet well because people go through a lot in life. You may never know how your good wishes can transform someone’s life. Due to different life strata and the differences in how we approach life, we cannot have one way towards fulfilment. It is also a sad reality to note that some people are rich and others poor and that is why when speaking of fulfilment it generates so many questions.
As kids, we looked up to the completion of our high school studies as the fulfilment of our lives. Having reached there, we began another academic journey at institutions of higher learning and so here, graduation was seen as fulfilment. Well, what comes after graduation? I know a number of people who have been seeking employment for many years while some have already given up; but, where they are now is what they once thought of as fulfilment.
Another example is a woman who after getting married realizes that life is not all about having a husband or being married, her experiences wound her, she gets frustrated and decides to quit the marriage. Meanwhile, this same woman equated fulfilment to marriage. There are a number of practical examples that can be listed, however, it is important to note that we do not all see things as they are but as we see them. Our expectations do not always come out as we imagine and this frustrates our desired fulfilment plans.
Psychologists say that life is not a straight jacket. This means there are ups and downs to be encountered as one moves along. Certain things cannot be avoided. No matter what approach one chooses, they will meet challenges, but this should not discourage anyone from attaining fulfilment. This calls for determination and a hardworking spirit to be able to strive for the better. There are a number of hidden things in life that are yet to be discovered and that is by hope because it is not guaranteed. It is important to realize that every day is an opportunity for us to go back to the drawing board and begin anew or modify our plans as we journey towards fulfilment. This is very important to note especially in this fast-changing world where everything can change any day, any time. We need to be more flexible and open-minded to welcome new challenges that we may encounter along the way. Fulfilment can be in simple and small things in life, often times the things we overlook.
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Fulfilment does not just happen and anyhow, something must be done and hoped for. More effort must be put into attaining the desired results. One cannot just sleep all day and night and expect to fulfil his or her life goals unless if for that person, fulfilment means sleeping, then they have been fulfilled, but what about others? Will those who once said they were fulfilled in life still say the same today if we are to ask them the same question? We may not be sure of their responses but we hope they would be able to give a positive response because we delight in people’s achievements and not in their failures.
If fulfilment has to do with something we expect, hope for, or wish to happen, then we all at some point have attained fulfilment in one way or the other. However, as human beings, we should never be remiss in doing well. Our aim should always be of a higher calibre. We need to enjoy the process as we move along, even as we work hard and put in our best in order to achieve fulfilment. Let us always remember that hard work pays.
Published in the November 2021 Edition of the WSA Magazine
