Old 10-21-2012, 08:21 AM
  # 15 (permalink)  
SeekingGrowth
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Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: MI
Posts: 452
Congratulations on your (almost) one year! What an inspiring achievement! I agree with the advice of the prior posters, but wanted to add just a little. Everyone's different, I think, but it is hard for me to be happy and fulfilled unless I feel like I'm doing something important on a regular basis that makes a difference in other people's lives. It can be hard to get that feeling from work sometimes (depending on what you do) because, while most people's jobs are important in some respects, they often are "cog in the wheel" important where you can't really see or feel the positive impact you're making. I can come up with fun and personally productive things to fill my leisure time - and I do - but I also need to balance that with some kind of activity that makes my life feel really meaningful BEYOND myself, in a way that directly helps other people. I need this to feel a sense of inner contentment.

A couple of people have suggested volunteering, and that is the very thing that gives me that sense of fulfillment I'm talking about. I volunteer at a rehab facility (of all things) - I meet with patients and families as they go through the admissions process. They want to talk about what they've been going through, and their fears about rehab, and I listen, share what I've learned, and my ES&H. It is obvious that it means A LOT to them, and helps them deal with this scary and stressful moment in their lives. And because they make it so clear how directly helpful my interaction with them is, it gives me what I need to feel like I'm making a positive difference in the world beyond my own little life. I do this just one day a week, and adding this to the mix of my normal job, family, exercise, and relaxing "just for me" leisure activities gives me that balance I need to be really content.

Like I said, everyone's different, and you may get that inner sense of contentment through other activities, but I thought I'd share what works for me.
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