A fulfilling life usually means meeting your goals as well as enjoying the present moments of your life. These can feel like opposing goals, but they don’t have to be.
“Fulfillment comes from a life of meaningful achievement and from being present in each moment while moving in the direction we most want to move,” writes Peter Bregman.
Bregman is a strategic advisor to CEOs and their leadership teams. I invariably find his writing to be inspiring and applicable beyond the boardroom.
In this article, Bregman shares a strategy for structuring your time in order to maximize meaning and live a more fulfilling life.
The strategy is based on three questions:
1) What is this year about? Think about your long-term focus. What progress do you want to make in the next year?
2) What is this day about? Is it moving you closer to where you want to be in a year? If not, try to structure your time to move you closer to your goals.
3) What is this moment about? If you are spending the day moving closer to where you want to be in a year, then it is easier to let go and enjoy the moments as they come. You can be more present and let go of any worry that you are spinning your wheels and getting nowhere.
My clients often come to therapy feeling stuck, like they are spinning their wheels. Busy and tired, they don’t necessarily feel like they are living the life they want. Exploring these questions can help orient them and find a trajectory that energizes them.
If you are feeling burnt out and overwhelmed, feel free to reach out to me. I work with creative professionals with anxiety, depression, and burnout. If I’m not the right fit as your therapist, I can help you find someone who is.