Why You Should Set Your Sights on Fulfilment Rather Than Happiness

Too often we are asked the dreaded question (“So, what’s next?”), when you leave a job or finish studying. Often it’s paired with unsolicited and outdated, or at least largely unrealistic, career advice like “Find a job that makes you happy.” But these clichés lean heavily on the idea that happiness should be our ultimate goal in life, instead of fulfilment.

Though well-meaning, this kind of advice reinforces the idea that finding “happiness” means we’re succeeding, while anything less than that amounts to some type of failure. That’s why, instead of an endless pursuit of happiness, some experts say we’re better off setting our sights on fulfilment. Here’s what to know.

Why pursuing happiness can backfire

Most people are programmed to think of “happiness” as achieving certain goals — like landing your “dream job” — or reaching specific milestones in life, like homeownership, or getting married.

“If you think you’re only going to be happy if you have a particular job, for example, then you’re in real trouble because it can be taken away from you at any moment,” human behaviour expert Patrick Wanis, PhD told Psycom in a recent interview. “Constantly pursuing this thing called ‘happiness’ automatically tells you it’s not here.”

That’s why seeking fulfilment is a better option.

Why seek fulfilment instead

Fulfilment, on the other hand, isn’t a specific, singular goal, but rather, “the process of living a valued life,” according to clinical psychologist Jennifer Barbera, PhD.

In practice, this means pursuing and engaging in things that you’re passionate about, and/or truly matter to you — like having the time and money for travelling or a particular hobby, helping to further a particular cause, or having the time and mental and emotional bandwidth to maintain and build friendships.

This focus makes fulfilment both more attainable and sustainable than constantly chasing happiness.

“Fulfillment may help a person better cope with other feelings such as disappointment, sadness, loss, and anger,” Barbera noted in the same interview with Psycom. “This means working towards embracing a range of emotions from joy and excitement to boredom, disappointment, sadness, fear, anxiety, and even embarrassment or shame.”