How to Live a Happy and Fulfilling Life

In life, I live by the motto: “Do what you do with love and everything will take care of itself.”

When you attempt to do everything in life with love, not only will you live a healthier, happier, and more fulfilling lifestyle, but you’ll also make a greater impact on the world.

The most important rule you should embrace in life is that whatever you do — do it with love. Only then will you grow your mind and reap the fruits of your labor.

As Buddha wisely said: “When you like a flower, you just pluck it. But when you love a flower, you water it daily.”

This rule applies to anything life, including work.

Think for a second.

• For a seed to become a flower, you need to constantly water and nurture it.
• A baker can bake the best bread if they put not just their hands but also their heart into it.
• A writer will grow in their craft if they put all their passion into their work.

You get the point.

When you immerse yourself in any kind of work with all the love and passion, you will get the most from it. If you love something from the bottom of your heart, it’ll spark tremendous interest in you. The chances are you’ll stick around with it for long; on the other hand, if what you do doesn’t spark your interest, you’ll want to quit soon.

When you do something with love, you’re putting all your soul into it. Your work becomes your identity. It defines your state of being. Work performed with love, energy and passion is the best work of all.

Do everything with love

You can never become truly accomplished at what you do unless you do it with all your heart. Because to give your best you must first love what you do. Love is the prerequisite to diligent work.

The definition of “work” is broad. Sometimes we don’t make a clear boundary between work and leisure. That’s because work can sometimes feels like leisure. If your work revolves around your passion, then most likely you’ll enjoy it and it won’t feel like work to you.

To give you an example: I love to write and although I feel writing can be a mentally challenging and draining activity, my passion for writing makes it feel like both work and leisure. And I put all my love and passion into what I do. I wouldn’t mind writing any time or any day of the week. It doesn’t feel like a chore unless of course, I spend the whole night writing and sacrificing my sleep.

Just as I nurture my body with food, I nurture my creative spirit with words. For me, the mere act of writing and seeing words on the page as I type them is a huge dopamine booster.

But you know what would feel like work to me? Swapping my writing time with sending e-mail pitches or replying to job offers online. And I admit, the technical and administrative nature of pitching clients isn’t as exciting as writing itself.

Doing what you love is the key to a happy life

Life is short, and you deserve to be in the job that brings you fulfillment. And you should spend your time on things you love the most, things that bring you joy.

With that said, if you go to your job with a feeling of dread every morning, then it’s time to switch gears and reconsider the value that job brings into your life. Is it truly worth it to be in a job that sucks your life and energy when you could be spending that time doing what you love the most?

The key to happiness is doing what you love.

One poll showed a shocking statistic — American adults are the unhappiest they’ve been in 50 years, and only 14% of American adults say they are truly happy. Part of the reason why is that they’re stuck at their dead-end jobs. Others can’t achieve a work-life balance to be truly happy.

If the job brings you more worries and stress and you don’t get satisfaction from it, then there is no reason you should stick around and force yourself to stay. Hating your job won’t serve you well, and the sooner you get out of it, the sooner you’ll be able to invest your time and energy into something that truly matters in life.

Find the work you love, and you’ll find your life instantly turn for the better.

“You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off of you.”

— Maya Angelou

The type of work you do and your level of satisfaction with it have a tremendous impact on your physical and emotional health.

So many people work in jobs they hate. They live their lives with the illusion that the paychecks are one piece to their happiness. They feel richer day after day on the outside, but only poorer and poorer on the inside. And that’s because they’ve chased their financial freedom while completely ignoring their personal life. The feeling of intense dissatisfaction builds up only to crush them down mentally.

So the question you should always ask yourself: Are you still happy and fulfilled emotionally after getting a big paycheck? If your answer is yes, then you know you are in the right place.

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”

— Confucius

The takeaway

The key to a happy life is doing what you love the most. You can only give your best to the job if it lights up your heart and spirit. If you do something you love, chances are you’ll stick around and succeed in life. You’ll live a happier and more fulfilling life. So find what brings you joy in life and do it with love.