TLDR / Intro
This is the introduction to the start of a monthly, year-long series discussing elements of living a fulfilled life, covering fundamentals of mental health, mindset, behaviour, education, core values, passion, purpose, mission, vision, goals, legacy and learning to enjoy the journey. If you have not read ‘The Vision’, yet, I suggest you start there first.
Please note that although I write a lot about mental health, I am not a medical or mental health professional. Some mental health problems cannot be solved by lifestyle changes alone. Always seek professional help.
If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, seek emergency medical help immediately. Call or go to the emergency department at the closest hospital or medical centre or call the local emergency phone number or a helpline. At the least do not be alone; seek help.
Everything I am going to discuss is based on life experience, ancient wisdom, and studying the lives and advice of people I believe to be living fulfilling lives, and people who have conquered mental health issues. As Jim Rohn said, “success leaves clues”.
We start from the darkness, moving step by step toward the light. This is thejourney toward fulfilment.
The plan
Over the coming twelve months, I plan to lay out in more detail ‘The Vision’.
This is the beginning of a series within a bigger, long-term project. Get comfortable for the long read. I will include a TLDR for each post for those with busy schedules.
The Vision
A world without depression, anxiety or suicide.
A world where everyone, everywhere, in every generation, has the opportunity to live a fulfilling life.
A world full of love, kindness and compassion.
How?
I believe that building a fulfilling life is a major key to ending depression, anxiety and suicide.
Defining Terms
Fulfilment is long-term life satisfaction and purpose. It is about the whole journey, not just the destination. It is different from happiness. Happiness is short-term and often focuses on individual pleasure.
Satisfaction is about getting something you wanted or doing something you wanted to do (i.e. the life you want to lead). This requires intention, planning and execution – having a clear idea of the life you want to lead and living it. It also requires discipline – having the life you want requires daily work. It requires doing difficult things and overcoming problems. It demands continuous learning, transformation and growth. It is about who you have to become to achieve the life you want.
Purpose is about something bigger than yourself. It involves using your unique passion (intrinsic interest) and skills to serve others in a meaningful way (meaningful service). This requires discipline and responsibility as you must focus on mastering specific skills in order to serve others the best you possibly can. Purpose feeds satisfaction as you help others more and more.
Twelve-month plan
I have identified the following twelve key areas that I believe to be significant contributors to a fulfilling life. We will discuss them in detail over the next twelve months in a logical (but not necessarily chronological) order to show you how we can achieve the vision.
For each area, we will discuss the background and why this area is important. At the end, there will be actionable steps and/or tools you can use after reading, as well as a question to reflect on.
This is a work in progress, but it will look something like this (with updates as I learn and grow):
- Fundamentals. (Foundations 1/3) In order to build a fulfilling life, we need to start with a strong foundation. We need to make sure we are looking after and protecting ourselves first. Once we have a strong foundation, we can really make progress on building the life we want. In this first part we will discuss the basics of mental health, keeping yourself safe, general self-care, reducing stress, improving energy and memory, structuring your life and how to recognise different triggers and tools you can use to cope and reduce the effects of depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. We will also talk about how to help others and how to reduce stigma.
- Mindset. (Foundations 2/3) This is the second part of building our strong foundation. Although this is a long, ongoing process, adapting our mindset will enable us to make much faster progress. We will discuss how to build, nurture and protect your mind. We will look at how your thinking habits shape the direction of your life and create your behaviour, as well as the benefits of a growth mindset. We will discuss identity and the beginning of belief in a life beyond what you ever thought was possible. We will also discuss viewing the world with a compassionate lens.
- Behaviour. (Foundations 3/3) This is the third and final step in building our strong foundation. We will discuss how mindset and behaviour influence each other. We will discuss how consistent actions over time (habits) shape the direction of your life, bringing you closer or further away from the life you want to lead. We will discuss the importance of intention and we will also cover finance here as this is the cause of many issues holding people back from the life they want.
- Education. We will discuss the value of compounding over time and how you can avoid unnecessary problems and learn faster by learning from those who have already done what you want to achieve. We will discuss learning with an open mind – including those you disagree with. We will discuss the value of reflection and constructive feedback and how to use them. We will also discuss the value of developing skills and mastery, and how these breed self-confidence while bringing you closer to your goals and vision. I will also share with you a reading/listening list full of authors, speakers, philosophers and leaders who have influenced me so far.
- Core Values. We will discuss the value of knowing your core values, how to know them, how they shape your identity and the direction of your life, how you use them to make decisions, and how going against them (consciously or unconsciously) can be the cause of many problems, but having that knowledge can help you to avoid many problems.
- Passion. We will discuss the catalytic power of passion (intrinsic interest) and the momentum it can build for propelling you forward in life, giving you energy and a future to run towards. We will see how this can start to develop into purpose.
- Purpose. We will discuss meaning and the value of serving others and the power of developing passion into purpose (meaningful service).
- Mission. We will discuss the value of having a mission statement, how to create one and how to use it.
- Vision. We will discuss the power of having a vision statement, how to create one and how to use it.
- Goals. We will discuss how to create big meaningful goals you will actually follow based on your values and vision. We will discuss how in achieving them you will become a better version of yourself. We will discuss the winning combination of passion, purpose and discipline. We will also discuss the importance of regular review and reflection.
- Legacy. We will discuss the importance of and ways of passing on wealth, knowledge and opportunities for fulfilment to the next generation.
- thejourney. In this final part of the series, we will discuss the value of enjoying the journey and ways to do it, and how the only time that really exists is now, so we should never postpone fulfilment.
I have designed this series as a manual. I suggest reading everything once, but you could dip in and out of it based on your needs at the time.
However you choose to follow, the purpose of this series is to:
- give you something useful to take away that helps you improve your life
- move closer to turning ‘the Vision’ into the Reality.
The more people we can reach in a positive way the closer we can get to achieving ‘the Vision’.
If you find something useful, please share the post with someone else who might find it useful.
As always, all constructive feedback is welcome, and I encourage you to add your insight in the comments.
Love JR
thejourneyx 
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