Personal Growth:  
How To Be Satisfied with Life

Some people attach words and concepts to their idea of "satisfied" such as single, sassy, and happy, but no one wants to discuss how to just be satisfied.  Satisfaction with your life is the last part of personal growth process.  I was at work the other day trying to figure what is the last component to personal growth. The only thing that came to my mind is satisfaction. If you have read the previous articles and actually done the things that I have listed on in some of my previous articles, then you have created a personal growth list - A list of things that you would like to change in your life.  However, have you asked yourself whether or not you are satisfied with your life? If you have not yet discovered whether or not you are atisfied with your life, you have wasted your time working on your “personal growth”, because you aren't really aware of the things that will lead to deep fulfillment in your own life.

Developmental psychology focuses upon how humans develop certain thought process and skills from childhood to adulthood, where the most important aspect of developmental psychology are the adult developmental stages is completing certain milestones at specific ages.  For example, a 50 year old adult should reflect on his or her life and be content with their accomplishments, including mistakes, and not trying to figure out what he or she wants to do with their life. Normally, you should figure out what you want to do with your life in your 20s, but everyone knows that it’s not always the case.

We all have doubts, and we all wonder if we could have done this or that differently or if perhaps our lives could have been different. I am guilty of that, and I actually thought about those questions for three hours at my desk at work the other day - How many others do the same thing?  As I asked myself these questions, I went through my mental list of all the mistakes I made when I was in my 20s.  Next, I analyzed how those mistakes destroyed my credit, stalled my career, and made me feel that I now have to play catch up with everyone around me. Part of my personal growth process was to learning how to fix my problems and learn from my mistakes, but in order to do that, I had to come to place in my life where I felt satisfied.

One of my former pastors told me that when you start trying to make your life perfect than you are not going to find peace and stability in your life.  You may experience road blocks, but you have to use the road blocks to your advantage. When life gives you lemons, learn how to make lemonade.

1.  Stop Living In The Past. 

If you continue to live in the past, then you will never move forward with your life and discover how to be properly fulfilled in the present moment. This includes moving forward from whatever experience that you feel you may have missed - It is never too late to start over.  For example, if you feel like you often find yourself in the same situation in one aspect of your life again and again, it is a sign that you haven't yet learned your lessons - More learning remains to be completed.

2.  Don’t Fix Everything Overnight.

It takes time to recover from bad choices, so work on the things that can be fixed immediately - Create short-term and long-term goals. Some of the things on your personal growth list can only be fixed with the natural healing processes that are provided by the passage of time. The sooner you are satisfied with realizing that overcoming your mistakes requires time, the easier it will be to complete your goals.

3.  Stay Focused On Your Goals. 

Being content with yourself allows you to think clearly, and it also helps you develop perseverance and the ability to stand your ground, even if you have to stand by yourself.  You will no longer be easily swayed by other people and by what they think is best for you.

Personal growth and meaningful self-fulfillment requires time, planning, and resolving personal issues. In the end, you will have clarity and learn how avoid future road blocks in your life, but you first have to become content or satisfied with where you are in life and accept the consequences of the choices you made in the past.  The end result will be that you have become a well-rounded, emotionally stabled person.

What do you think? Have you ever had problem accomplishing your goals because you too focused on not being stratified or content yourself? What did you do about it? 

- Heather Browning, MBA, BA