Five Ways to Live a More Morally-Fulfilled Life
Leading a morally-fulfilled life allows you to live life on your own terms, but it also takes commitment, drive, and perseverance. While it's a challenging way to live, it's also gratifying, and its life-altering rewards include emotional freedom and spiritual growth.
Implement these five ideas into your daily routine to begin your journey to a morally-fulfilled life:
Let Go of Material Possessions and Allow Your Values to Guide You
Don't let material possessions direct your decisions. Instead, let your values and morals guide your life. Letting go of the quest for material things frees you to make decisions based on your values and injects clarity into your life.
Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
Getting out of your comfort zone is vital to self-improvement. Discomfort can motivate you to achieve goals you never thought possible, and you miss out on a tremendous amount of growth when you stay where you're comfortable.
Taking risks encourages new ways of thinking, inspires you to reevaluate your belief system, and gets easier the more you do it. It may even help you age well. A 2013 study found that learning new skills helps people maintain their cognitive abilities as they age.
Treasure Friendships
Nurture your friendships. Research shows that people with a strong social support network tend to live healthier, longer, more fulfilling lives than those without one. Have coffee once a week with a friend or start a supper club with your neighbors. This support system will mean as much to them as it does to you.
Master Yourself
Learn to control your behavior. Choose to quit overeating and start exercising. Decide to stop shopping and start saving. Cut negative behavior out of your life, be it as small as being occasionally short with your loved ones, or as large as yielding to the temptation to commit serious felonies. Self-discipline is like a muscle that can be grown with practice, and the best practice involves developing a skill like Taekwondo or Jiujitsu. Once you exert control over yourself, you'll make meaningful choices that will change your life for the better.
Worry About What You Can Control
Only worry about what you can control. Figure out what you can influence with your actions, and let everything else go. You can't control the crime rates of other countries, but you can participate in activities in your community to help reduce the crime rate there. Tutor elementary students, coach youth basketball, or donate money to a homeless shelter. Your actions will make a difference.
Living a morally-fulfilling life is its own reward. It provides clarity and the ability to live life on your own terms. By valuing others, letting go of material possessions, and learning to control your actions, you can live a purposeful life full of meaning and worth.
