People With The Most Fulfilling Lives Follow 7 Unique 'Golden Rules'
Implement these into your daily life, and you will always find the right path to happiness.
Andrii Nekrasov / Shutterstock When you have time to just sit and wonder about how much has changed in your life, it's important to find a brief moment of calm. To sit and wonder how you have handled all of the transitions that have happened recently.
Have you been the best daughter or son? Romantic partner? Have you let the stress get to you even when you pride yourself on handling things well?
Some time is still well-spent on making sure you remain the person you have worked so hard to become. For that reason, there are certain rules you should live by.
Here are the 7 'golden rules' people with the most fulfilling lives follow
1. Help those you can, whenever you can
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By observing people, you're actually absorbing — absorbing what they're feeling in the moment; the challenges they're facing; the simplicity of sitting down alone at lunch; the struggle of scaling the third flight of stairs as they likely wonder if they should work out more often. The challenges we all face, simply by being human.
Maybe you've run into a stranger when the elevator doors opened, making immediate eye contact with the person in it. They may have glanced at you and you felt their sadness in that moment.
That sadness can stick with you for a long time, but it's a reminder that all any of us want is to live a happy, healthy life. The realities of the world are often harsh, and sometimes we all need a helping hand.
The next time someone bumps into you accidentally, says the wrong thing, or needs help lifting something heavy into their car, don't lose sight of the realization that how you react in that moment towards them could be the best or worst part of their day.
2. Stay true to your commitments
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While commitment may make you think mostly about relationships, commitments come in all shapes and sizes.
Loyalty is a seemingly rare commodity in today's society. People are so busy and connected to so many different things at once, it's easy to lose track of things you've said or promises you've made.
For this reason, one of the most impactful things you can do for another person is to do what you told them you were going to do, regardless of whether or not you're in the same mood you were in when you said it. This is called integrity, and people with the most fulfilling lives have it.
3. Remain courteous at all times
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Have you ever stopped your car to let someone cross the street or switch into your lane? Now, have you ever done that and received no gratitude in return? No smile, no nod, no simple hand wave to acknowledge your courtesy?
Even though this seems like such a small task, the effect it has on others is much larger.
Courtesy isn't something that requires much effort, which is perhaps one of the reasons why it's surprising that it seems so rare these days. But if we all put in a concerted effort to just be a little kinder to each other, we could make a legitimate difference in countless people's lives.
4. Be honest and genuine with everyone
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One of the biggest lessons you can learn is that no matter who you're dealing with or what kind of situation you're in, you're speaking to a human being.
A human being with a family, challenges, struggles, and obligations — just like you have. A human being who probably felt a little stiff getting out of bed this morning. A human being who feels joy and pain.
These things are difficult to remember when you see someone dashing through lanes of traffic or cutting ahead in line at the grocery store. While it may be argued that not everyone "deserves" your genuine kindness, remember that you shouldn't be kind to others because of who they are, but instead because of who you are.
5. Care less about who's right and more about what's right
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Two people can do the same thing in completely different ways and both feel the way they do things is correct because it's just what they're used to. If these two people come together and need to do the same thing, it's natural that there will be some conflict or argument about how it should be done.
Things like this are the root of many arguments in relationships, but it's why you need to keep fairness in your mind. What makes the most sense? What's fair to everyone involved? What will accomplish the goal in a way that makes everyone comfortable?
It goes beyond compromise; it's about genuinely striving to understand how the other person feels and factor that into your decision-making.
6. Avoid drama at all costs
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To live a life free of conflict is nearly impossible, but you probably see the same people on social media who never seem to stop complaining about the same things, over and over again.
Eventually, when someone constantly finds themselves in the middle of turmoil, one must ask themselves what (or who) the common denominator is. Sometimes, conflict is caused by another person in your life who's difficult to walk away from. Sometimes it may seem out of our control.
While it isn't easy, it isn't a coincidence that some people can never seem to escape the cycle. It's all about the decisions you make along the way.
7. Show your appreciation to others
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It's far too easy to lose track of the things others do for us, even when they're small. You may appreciate these acts of service in your mind, but if the giver doesn't feel your appreciation towards them, then it's the same as not existing in the first place.
Whether it be in your personal or professional life, one of the most important things you can do for your fellow humans is let them know how much you appreciate what they do. A small "thank you" goes a long way when it's such a rare combination of words to be heard in today's fast-paced, increasingly selfish society.
None of us are perfect. But we can make sure we give ourselves the time every now and then to keep ourselves in check.
Doing so lets us make sure we're still improving and developing, and that our relationships don't flounder as we navigate our path down the road of life.
We must make sure that we don't get so caught up in making a living that we forget to create a life.
James Michael Sama is an internationally recognized speaker, author, and personal development coach. He's a go-to expert on CNN, Bravo, The New York Post, The Huffington Post, The Daily Beast, CNBC, The Boston Globe, and CBS, among many others.