Most of my research focuses on fulfilling work, but what about a fulfilling life? Who doesn’t want a fulfilling life? But, what does it actually mean and what clues are emerging from recent psychology research?
A fulfilled life refers to the positive appraisal of the person one has become, how one has led one’s life, and the impact one has made.
(Doris Baumann for World Economic Forum, 2022)
According to recent studies, fulling work is an aspiration available to most people, and work is an important part of life. Psychologists generally think of a good life in terms of happiness or meaning, but there is growing evidence that psychological richness is another, neglected aspect of a good life. Recent studies show that leading a psychologically rich life is related to, but distinct from, happiness or meaning in life.
- A happy life is characterised by stability, comfort, and pleasantness. People who report high levels of life satisfaction and happiness often have stable long-term relationships either with a partner, friends, or family members.
- A meaningful life is typically a life of purpose, coherence, and significance. People often experience meaning when they make a contribution beyond themselves, and in ways that are coherent with who they are.
- A psychologically rich life is characterised by a variety of interesting and perspective-changing experiences. Individuals who lead a psychologically rich life seek to enrich their lives through novel experiences such as travel, literature, film, music, sports, and the arts.
Source: Oishi et al. (2020)
What matters most – happiness, meaning, or psychological richness?
There is no simple or universal answer to this question.
A series of studies, across several geographies, examined whether people favoured a psychologically rich life over a happy life, or a meaningful one.
- The majority favoured a happy life (49.7% to 69.9%).
- A meaningful life was second (14.2% to 38.5%).
- A psychologically rich life was desired by a substantial minority of participants (6.7% to 16.8%), even at the expense of a happy or a meaningful life.
Whether the question is forward or backward looking also seems to matter.
American adults were asked what they regret most in their lives, then if they could undo or reverse the regretful event, whether their lives would have been happier, more meaningful, or psychologically richer. Roughly 28% reported that their lives would have been psychologically richer, suggesting that these 28% participants would have liked to live a psychologically richer life.
The answer also differs across cultures, between people within a culture, and potentially for the same person at different times.
So, it’s not a simple question, but it is a great question – one that probably need to be re-visited periodically throughout our lives.
Here are a few questions for you to reflect on:
- When you look back over your life so far, have you experienced feeling fulfilled?
- How did you know you were fulfilled?
- What aspects of your current life is fulfilling?
- When you review the words in the table above which resonate most with you?
- What is your main insight from this article?
If you’re already thinking about changing your work,
References
Sujata Gupta. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/good-life-happy-meaning-richness-change-experiences-psychology/amp
R.F. Baumeister et al. Some key differences between a happy life and a meaningful life. The Journal of Positive Psychology. Vol.8, p.505, doi: 10.1080/17439760.2013.830764.
S. Oishi et al. Happiness, meaning and psychological richness. Affective Science. Vol. 1, June 23, 2020, p.107. doi: 10.1007/s42761-020-00011-z.
S. Oishi et al. The psychologically rich questionnaire. Journal of Research in Personality. Vol. 81, August 2019, p.257. doi: 10.1016/j.jrp.2019.06.010.
Fulfilling work 