“True fulfillment comes from helping others.”  -Anonymous

I love this quote because as I’ve grown over the years in my business and in my leadership, I have seen more and more how true this is. Fulfillment does not come from having lots of nice things or having a fancy car or house. Those things are bonus but if you don’t have any care for others, the nice things won’t matter.

When your mindset about people is focused on how you can help them and how you can see them succeed, you feel genuine fulfillment by watching them grow. You start to notice how helping someone goes a long way in propelling your own enjoyment of life. Their joy becomes your joy.

The three building blocks to start building a fulfilled and authentic life all hinge off of this. Here are three easy tips that I do on my journey towards building fulfillment.

Think about others, not just yourself.
Start with a simple thing like smiling at a stranger. In today’s world this can sometimes feel so strange! People may not smile back. But when you smile at people, you are focusing on them and on brightening their day and this mindset change goes a long way.

If you’re aware of the people around you, you’ll gradually see other ways in which you can help them. Your instinct will be to help whenever you can.

Sometimes it is hard to smile at people. Maybe you’re having a bad day or you’re going through something hard and you just don’t have the energy to smile or help. Maybe you’re even the one who needs help.

Even if you don’t feel like you can brighten someones day, be sure that you don’t take your bad day out on them! If you can’t make their day better, don’t do anything (doing nothing is better than being hurtful!). Then, try again the next day.

Connect with people, not possessions
People are the most important thing in life. Building a fulfilled life requires people to be part of the equation. Once you have become aware of other people, you can start connecting with them. Connecting with people means putting a priority on your friendships, family and community.

It also means branching out and finding new people to connect with. Start a group for people in your community around a topic or activity you love. Bring people together and see people connect with each other.

Being connected to people rather than possessions will keep you grounded when things get tough. If you care more about what you own than about the people in your life you won’t have much to stand on if a day came where your things were gone. The people in your life are what will get you through anything. Choose to connect with people who will stand by your side no matter what.

Finally, always try to improve
Building fulfillment in your life starts by continuously searching for ways to improve. Take the first two building blocks and practice them over and over again. Helping and connecting to others is a skill that takes time and energy. It may not happen overnight. Make it a habit in your life!

Start building fulfillment and an authentic lifestyle by smiling at one random person each day. Make it your goal to add this mindset into your routine. It’s a simple way to start!

Build from there by looking for ways to help people when they need it and connect with people in your community. Trust me, your life will become a thousand times better because of it!!

I’d love to hear your stories of fulfillment! Write a note in the comments below to tell me how you put these into practice and what results you’ve seen! I’d love to hear from you!