How to Feel Fulfilled Today

Jam tomorrow, jam yesterday, but never ever jam today

These words are from a 1982 TV-movie version of Alice in Wonderland. Carol Channing's raspy voice sings them just before she turns into a sheep.

I stumbled across this clip and was instantly transported to almost thirty years ago, watching this movie at my grandparents' house, sitting two inches from the screen. It's one of my earliest memories.

While I barely remember the unintentionally hilarious jabberwocky and Sammy Davis Jr.'s awkward interpretation of the caterpillar, the quote above has stuck with me all these years, and is especially apt today.

In a nutshell, it means one should stay hungry: Celebrate that you had "jam" yesterday, push for the possibility of "jam" tomorrow, but never sit on your laurels and enjoy the jam today. It's a familiar sentiment in the 18-hour startup days of "hustling" and "crushing it."

But who says you can't have your jam any day of the week? It's very good jam, after all.

Think about the word "fulfillment." What does it mean? To many it's a sign of ultimate achievement. To be fulfilled is to be "full" of all the things one could want in life, a state we want to eventually reach.

To become more fulfilled, it's natural to look at what we have, what we don't have, and find gaps. Then we set goals to fill those gaps: buy a new car, buy a house, get a new job, find a new relationship; something to make life more fulfilling.

But think about the moments where you get the thing you've been pining for. How long do those moments of satisfaction last? Not very.

To most, fulfillment is for "some day in the future," when a goal is reached. But inevitably, a new goal is set, and the quest for fulfillment is renewed. So if fulfillment can never truly be reached, what's the point?

Let's redefine fulfillment

Let's change what being "fulfilled" means. What would its definition need to be for it to be true for everyone, today? Here's my stab at it:

The ability to express yourself fully and doing what is right for you. > To be authentic every moment.

Note that the above isn't positively or negatively charged. It doesn't say "to be happy," or "to feel satisfied," or "to work your ass of for forty years and then smile." Oftentimes the things that matter most in life are hard-won, dramatic, heart-breaking and exhausting. But they're always fulfilling.

Applying to your business

Truthfully, I arrived at the notion of personal fulfillment by working backwards from our company. What does it mean for a business to be fulfilled using the definition above?

It comes down to culture; a healthy business is one that expresses its culture fully. If transparency is one of your company's values, if you had a day of closed-door meetings and information hoarding, it likely wasn't a fulfilling day for the business.

It's important to reflect on both personal and company values and reconcile them. Ultimately, you know you're in a sense of fulfillment if things just feel ‘right' to you. Personally, that could mean sitting on a dock in Maine, speaking up in a high-profile business meeting, or pushing your toddler on a swing. Professionally, that could be hosting a brainstorming session, saying "no" to a customer's request, or exploring a different way to solve a problem.

Recognize those moments and celebrate them as they happen. That's what "jam today" looks like.