I always enjoy the reflection that comes in between Christmas and New Years. It’s also a week when many people take off from work. As a teacher, we’re on our winter break and I’ve been loving the chance to slow down and spend more time at home with family. 

Since our son Finn got his own Switch Lite, Katie and I gave him the boot off our Animal Crossing island and I’ve been spending the week putting everything back where it was. Very important work.  

On the blog, I’ve been talking a lot about how I believe that money can make us happier, which you don’t usually hear. While money can make you happier, what it can’t do is create fulfillment for you. 

So while owning a nice car can give you a lot of enjoyment, if you don’t have the important things in life covered, the stuff can just feel empty. 

Something that I really enjoy is getting to look closely at the intersection between money and life. While I should say that the subject of this blog is all about money, it’s really way more than that. Because to really use your money in the wisest way, you have to have a more complete picture of what you want out of life and what’s going to fulfill you on a deeper level. 

So what does it take to create a life that fulfills us?

Find and create work you enjoy doing.

Work is not about just surviving or enduring until you can get to retirement. Finding work you enjoy is crucial to living the good life. It’s a major component of our adult lives and it’s way too important just to wander through. 

It’s also important to get really good at the work you do now, and to build your work into what allows you to be your best every single day. 

Whether crafting your work life means moving on to something else or making sure you’re working smart in the job you have, making your job something you enjoy doing is crucial for the good life. 

Build positive relationships.

Our life is built all around relationships. Relationships with a significant other, family, friends, and even having a spiritual relationship with God. 

I was super lucky that I got married to my best friend. You may not have settled down yet, but I think choosing the right partner is the single biggest factor in determining your happiness in life. 

And even though being a parent is seriously hard, the relationships I have with my kids mean more to me than anything. 

But regardless of who the relationships are with, it’s important that you have them. People that you can trust and that have your back. 

Focus on activities that renew you. 

We all need healthy outlets to focus on. You need to make sure that you’re developing yours. 

Writing has become something that’s renewing to me. So while my students may complain to me about the paper they have to write, what I’ve discovered is that I love writing. 

It’s not an energy-taking activity, it’s an energy-giving one. And it’s something outside of my regular day to day that’s helping to create a more fulfilling life for me. 

Something I realized a few years ago was that the highlight of my day was just getting to the couch so I could mindlessly scroll my phone. I realized that was the moment the entire day was leading up to, and it was very unsatisfying. I realized something had to change. I had to work to bring higher quality activities into my life and it was around that time that my blog was born. 

Writing gives me a greater purpose. It helps me to share things I care about and interact with people in a way I never have before. 

So make sure that you’re spending time doing things you care about. Whether that’s going for a run, making something, or just reading. Focus on quality activities that make you feel better and that lead to a healthier lifestyle.

Create a sense of adventure in your life.

This is all about doing new and exciting things-creating new memories and enjoying new experiences. 

This is also something that Katie and I need to work on more this next year.

When you add in work and parenting, we’ve been working so hard for so long, we frankly haven’t been able to enjoy the type of adventure that we love so much.

There’s nothing we love more than trying new food at a restaurant we’ve never been to before. For as long as we’ve been together, this has always been our favorite activity. 

We also love to travel. But really, since we’ve had our kids, that too has been a lot more on the backburner.

There’s nothing more refreshing and rewarding than the experience of travel. 

But whatever it is that creates a sense of adventure in your life, make sure that you’re experiencing new things.

Never stop growing.

I think this one’s essential for a fulfilling life. You’ll never be done. You never want to reach a point where there’s just nothing else to. I think there’ll always be work, or at least there should be. 

To live the good life, and one that never gets boring, you always want to be growing. You always want to be learning and working towards making yourself and the world better. 

I believe that making yourself better is always worth it.

I’ve also come to realize that there is no greater work we can do on earth than to help others. By using your gifts and talents to serve the world, you make the world a better place. 

That, I think, is the ultimate goal.

I definitely don’t have it all figured out, but these are the things I’m going to be working on in the new year. 

Working better, focusing more on the relationships that matter, making sure that the way I spend my time renews me instead of draining me, adding in some adventure this year, and then making sure that when I look back a year from now, I’ll be able to see that I’ve grown. 

Hey, before you go, let me know what you’ll be working on this year by hitting reply.

Jared