The 5-Step Formula to Creating Long-Lasting Life Satisfaction
Focus on your true needs
I don’t want to be happy.
Happiness is a fleeting emotion. It’s immediate and in the moment. Instead of happiness, try aiming for life satisfaction.
Life satisfaction is different than happiness.
Life satisfaction is better because it refers to your attitude and how satisfied you are with your life.
Life satisfaction is something you can acquire if you work towards it.
You can create long-lasting life satisfaction with these five steps.
Here’s how you can gain life satisfaction.
1. Have Goals
Once I started setting and achieving goals for myself, my life satisfaction soared. The key is achieving your goal.
Satisfaction comes from the process and completion of a project.
Don’t just set goals for yourself you never intend to finish and forget about them. I used to write down goals I never achieved, and it made me feel worse.
It’s not enough to have the goals. You have to spend time working toward the end product.
2. Look at Your Buckets
If you look online, you’ll find dozens of models behind life satisfaction. It’s broken down into different brackets so you can properly analyze where things are going right.
For my purposes, let's say these are seven different life components:
Physical Health
Mental Health
Financial Health
Spiritual Health
Relationships
Occupational
Leisure
Take a second and imagine what your life would look like if each category were maxed out. If my physical health were maxed out, I would run 5ks, be able to do the splits and dance.
Everybody’s version is going to look different. There is no right or wrong here.
Look at each of these components and answer your satisfaction on a scale of 1–10. Find out which buckets are low and figure out what you need to do to increase them.
3. Have a Life Story
You may feel like your life is boring or isn’t interesting. I used to feel the same way.
Your life story doesn’t have to be big and dramatic. It’s as simple as the moments that make up your daily life.
It’s the stories you tell yourself about your life.
Try drawing a line and mapping out all the different things that happened in your life.
4. Continue Learning
You are at your happiest when you’re growing. Take classes and try new experiences.
I’m currently taking a class on The Science of Wellbeing, and it’s fascinating.
Explore and nurture your interests. The more you learn, the more confident you’ll be.
5. Minimize
Minimalization used to be all the hype. People were Marie Kondo-ing their homes left and right. It was largely a fad, but the idea behind it remains.
The core principle of minimizing is to get clear and focus on your values. Getting rid of your items isn’t about having the least amount of stuff.
It’s about removing things that no longer serve you. It’s about focusing on your true needs.
Final thoughts
The goal in life is to feel satisfied. At the end of the day, your emotions won’t matter. What you accomplish will.
For a recap:
Set goals and pursue them relentlessly
Look at your bucket components
Go out and experience the world
Continue to grow and learn
Focus on the things that matter
Ready to level yourself up and become the best version of yourself? Download my free journaling guide now.
Maggie Kelly is a freelance writer who writes about mental health, self-help, and psychology. Contact at maggiepkelly@gmail.com
