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Indulgence VS Healthier Habits: 6 Ways to Live a More Fulfilling Life

We all want to live a fulfilling life – one where we feel energetic, relevant, and delighted to be alive.

Do you feel fulfilled now?

Do you like the idea of feeling more fulfilled than you ever have before?

True fulfillment transcends fleeting happiness or external achievements. It comes from your authentic self-expression and meaningful engagement with the world.

A fulfilling life is not so much a destination as it is a process of personal enhancement that comes from engaging in two behaviors that seem to contradict one another:

• On one hand, discovering the things that bring you joy and doing those things more often.

• On the other hand, developing resilience in the face of challenges and becoming a better person.

In essence, a fulfilling life is one where you get skilled at balancing indulgence with healthier habits.

Decadence & Discipline: Striking a Fulfilling Balance

Discipline is about getting healthier.

If we left children to their own devices, they might eat ice cream for breakfast daily and play games on their tablets for 6 hours straight.

And so we try to teach them to strike a balance:

• We support their indulgence and encourage them to unabashedly love what they love.

• At the same, we try to teach them the discipline to make healthier choices.

But getting healthier is about way more than broccoli and pushups.

It’s about tapping into some science-backed techniques and lifestyle shifts – that will leave you wondering why the heck no one told you about this stuff sooner.

6 Unexpected, Science-Backed Tips for a Fulfilling & Healthier Life

Here’s what you need to know about living your most fulfilling life, with 6 tips to get you started.

A video is included, which should prove helpful.

1. Make Acquaintance with All Age Ranges

Hang out with younger people, and also hang out with people older than you.

Scientists say having friends from younger generations can actually help keep your brain agile and spirits high as you age.

Their fresh perspectives and different life experiences engage your brain in new ways. So go make friends with someone a decade or two younger than you – you’ll get a brain boost while scoring cool points for being that awesome older friend.

A study by researchers at Harvard found that having intergenerational relationships can help make you healthier. For example, positive relationships with people decades younger helped older adults feel more embedded in society and had a revitalizing effect.

Conversely, hang out with older folks. Avail yourself of their wisdom and their different perspective. Listen to what they’re saying, but also try to read between the lines and try to glean lessons from the life they’ve already lived.

Mature athlete training outdoors in order to live a healthier and more fulfilling life.

A study highlighted by ScienceDaily found that social interactions, which can be a significant part of engaging in group-based creative activities, can improve cognitive function in older adults. The study observed that older adults who lacked certain types of social contact experienced a boost in cognition on days when they had more social interactions than usual​.

2. Self-Care is Good, But Challenge Yourself, Too

It’s nice to pamper yourself, too, but the opposite can also be good. For example, try taking cold showers.

Subjecting your body to cold therapy like ice baths or even just a brisk shower can spark transformative health benefits.

We’re talking about better immunity, increased metabolic rates, reduced inflammation, and a natural high that lasts for hours. It’s brutal at first, but you’ll get addicted to the recharge.

A Netherlands study established that exposure to cold temperatures through showers can lead to improved immune responses and metabolic health benefits.

3. Wiggle Your Toes and Get Grounded

Reconnecting your body to the gentle electrical charge of the Earth has been shown to reduce stress while giving you more energy. So, go barefoot more often.

mature healthier woman hiking outdoors postponing indulgence for a fulfilling life

It’s called “grounding” or “earthing” and it’s a free life hack. So ditch your shoes and wiggle your toes in the grass or sand as much as possible.

A pilot study published in the Journal of Environmental and Public Health found that grounding or earthing by having direct skin contact with the earth reduces inflammation and promotes improved health.

4. Be a Productivity Enthusiast, But Also, Be a Lazy Good-for-Nothing

Productivity systems can be enormously helpful for staying on track with goals and getting more done during a typical week, leaving you with a feeling of accomplishment.

However, it’s also helpful to do absolutely nothing for 15 minutes each day.

Nope, not meditating or anything active. Schedule 15 minutes to lie horizontally and let your mind wander without any distractions or goals besides pure rest. This quick recharge lets your body’s systems hit the reset button in a way active relaxation can’t provide.

Multiple research studies have indicated that giving your brain a brief period of awake, unbounded rest allows it to integrate information better and solidify memories more effectively. 

5. Watch More Comedies Than Dramas

It can be energizing to watch the occasional horror film or listen to the latest true crime podcast. But a little of that stuff goes a long way.

It’s more important to laugh your ass off daily.

Laughter really is incredible medicine. Finding ways to get deep, doubling-over belly laughs every single day floods your body with endorphins and oxytocin. It reduces inflammation, boosts immune function, and even protects your heart. Laughing frequently could extend your life!

So sure, once in a while, a brutal action film can be stimulating, but be sure to read that comedic memoir and see the latest sketch comedy show, too.

Laughter therapy programs have been shown in studies to reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia while improving quality of life. Genuine laughter increases endorphins and other positive hormones.

6. Unleash Your Inner Artist

One of the pitfalls of getting older is that you stop doing arty stuff. As a kid, you doodled, went to band practice, played soccer, and auditioned for the school musical.

Now, you just work.

You don’t have to be Picasso. Any creative outlets – writing, playing music, drawing, or designing – improve cognitive function while allowing you to process experiences and emotions.

Making art also reduces stress while giving you a sense of purpose. Consider picking up that long-abandoned hobby again.

Research has found that creative pursuits improve cognitive functions and emotional resilience while providing a fulfilling sense of personal growth, particularly in mature adults. For instance, a study led by Julene K. Johnson, Ph.D., at the University of California, San Francisco, found that participation in a community choir program improved the quality of life, reduced feelings of loneliness, and increased interest in life among older adults.

Another study published in PLOS ONE focused on the broader category of leisure activities, encompassing both creative and other types, and found that these activities are positively associated with cognitive function, physical function, and mental health in older adults. The research suggested that engaging in creatively stimulating activities can help preserve cognitive function, supporting the “use it or lose it” hypothesis, which posits that intellectual engagement can slow cognitive decline​​.

Life’s Ultimate Paradox: Embracing Indulgence & Discipline Simultaneously

A paradox is when two seemingly contradictory principles are each true. So it is with indulgence and discipline. They both matter. But how can you do both at the same time?

Picture this: you wake up every morning feeling energized, excited, and ready to seize the day. You have a spring in your step, a brightness in your eyes, and a strong feeling of contentment in your heart. You have a sense of deep satisfaction. This is what it feels like to live a life filled with joy – and it’s within your reach.

But here’s the secret: it’s not just about eating your veggies and hitting the gym (although those things certainly help).

To tap into your full potential and experience the kind of fulfillment that radiates from the inside out, you need to embrace the paradox of pursuing joy and discipline simultaneously.

At almost 60 years old, I have enough time and distance to be able to look back on my life with objectivity and recognize some patterns – patterns that now seem obvious to me, but at the time I was so in the thick of it that I didn’t consciously realize the mistakes I was making.

Among those mistakes, the biggest was stepping away from joy.

Anytime my life went in an unfortunate direction, I now see it was because I veered away from the things that brought me joy.

Why did I do that?

It’s as if the universe-at-large was showering me with things I delighted in – the people, activities, and interests that helped me feel alive. Things like music, dance, literature, the outdoors… but I had a hard time receiving them.

I realize now that I kept stepping out of the beam of abundance and opportunity that was being sent my way.

I disallowed it.

The experts tell us that the main symptom of early life trauma is that you find difficult people and try to get them to be good to you. The irony is, that ends up making you a difficult person, too.

I’m grateful today – so grateful – that I’m able to allow the good things in.

I love comedies, outdoor workouts, and I enjoy people. Especially people who are good listeners (I like the quiet, soulful types) and people who have a strong sense of curiosity (and I can tell if someone is genuinely curious by the specific follow-up questions they ask).

Today, I know, that the trick to life is loving things.

Love the things you love, unabashedly.

Be a nerd about it.

I have a friend who loves musical theater. I’m now that into it, but I love that HE loves it. You do you, boo.

Another friend loves anime and computer games. It’s not my thing, but it’s fun to hear her talk about it because her passion and delight are contagious.

Fulfillment is a subjective experience.

What brings fulfillment to you might be different than what fulfills someone else.

What matters most is finding and cultivating the elements of your life that resonate with your core self.

I Won’t Yuk Your Yum

In theory, life works best when the things that bring you joy also happen to be good for you.

If you like motorcycles and cigarettes, I am not going to judge you just because, statistically, those are among two of the most potentially self-harming activities.

healthier man living fulfilling life during outdoors tennis and avoiding indulgence

From one perspective, you might say that the easiest way to determine if indulgence is worth it is to ask yourself if it’s harming yourself or others.

To do harm – to yourself or someone else – means you have to turn off the part of your psyche that is compassion and empathy.

As soon as you switch-off your empathy, you’re no longer having a fully dimensional human experience.

In other words, you might be limiting yourself.

Speaking metaphorically, compassion, empathy, and kindness are the dynamics that take a human life from black-and-white into full-spectrum color.

Sometimes, when the concept of Do No Harm is mentioned, there can be an undertone of moralizing, shame, or judgment that comes with it.

But that’s not the framework here.

This is about how to live your most fulfilling life. This is about embracing your humanity. If you love motorcycles and cigarettes, I would just suggest that you REALLY love them. Know the price tags, sure, but if the potential in-the-moment joy you experience is worth the cost – that’s your decision, not mine.

Real-Life Examples of Struggling to Balance Indulgence and Healthier Habits

Another example of the struggle to balance indulgence with healthier habits is the man who works hard to be a good financial provider for his spouse and children:

• Whether he is at home or at the office, the bulk of his mental and physical energy goes toward being powerful and capable in his profession.

• He’s often inclined to devote more energy to work than to having a lazy, relaxed hangout with his kids.

• He’s a good man – but also a stark reminder of the consequences of prioritizing work and financial success over health.

• To him, the buzz he gets from empire-building and being brilliant at work is an addictive high.

• Despite his potentially immense achievements at work, he tends to neglect health to pursue his ambitions. Irregular eating habits, stress-driven lifestyle, and avoidance of medical treatment for his health issues can harm his well-being.

Another example is the obesity epidemic and public health:

• Obesity has become a global concern over the past few decades and highlights the consequences of performing hedonistic pleasures without considering the long-term impact on health.

• The rise in sedentary lifestyles and excessive consumption of calorie-dense, unhealthy foods has led to widespread health issues, including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and various other chronic conditions.

These examples serve as reminders that embracing a lifestyle valuing healthier choices, mindfulness, and holistic well-being can lead to better outcomes in terms of health, longevity, and overall life satisfaction – especially when compared to the short-lived pleasures often associated with behaviors that seem more hedonistic.

Life is Fulfilling: Conclusion on Getting Happier

The steady gratification derived from leading a balanced life contributes to lasting contentment.

Sometimes it’s confusing to know whether to live indulgently in-the-moment, or, to plan for a long lifespan.

On one hand, there are no guarantees, and we must live life while there is still life to be lived.

That seems like common sense, but it’s too tempting to postpone living boldly for some imaginary time in the future when you expect to have more time, energy, or wherewithal.

On the other hand, what if we live to be 90 or 100, or beyond? We want the last decade of our lifespan to be as enjoyable and as pain-free as possible, and so we wonder, maybe it’s smart to delay short-term gratification so the final years are more fulfilling?

In truth, none of us knows how long we have to live:

  • If there’s a chance you might die next week, does it mean you should choose indulgence over living healthier this week?
  • Wouldn’t the rest of your short life be more fulfilling if you had donuts for dinner – rather than eating a vegetable salad and going to the gym?

There are compelling reasons to delay gratification for the sake of greater health and happiness in the long term. This video explains:

By incorporating these six surprising strategies into your daily routine – from embracing intergenerational friendships to unleashing your inner artist – you’ll be well on your way to experiencing the kind of deep, authentic contentment that comes from living in harmony with your true self.

It just seems to make sense to celebrate the process of enhancement, Seeing that small, incremental changes can lead to better health and appearance, and understanding that your life – no matter how efficient or satisfying it may seem – can always be improved.

So go ahead, take that cold shower, wiggle your toes in the grass, and laugh until your belly aches. The path to a more vibrant, purposeful, and fulfilling life is waiting for you – and it’s going to be an adventurous ride.

Additional Resources on Living a Fulfilling Life and Delaying Gratification:

Eudaimonia, the Flourishing Life, and Philosophical Traditions such as Aristotelian Ethics – https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-ethics/

Utilitarianism and Maximizing Happiness – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utilitarianism

Existential Fulfillment – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7016537/

Personality Traits of Successful Humans – https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/your-emotional-meter/201712/the-benefits-delaying-gratification

Bioscience and Longevity Predictors – https://article.imrpress.com/journal/FBL/23/8/10.2741/4657/Landmark4657.pdf National Center for

Biotechnology Information: Fitness and Mortality Risk – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6153509/ Fitness Association With Health-Related

Quality of Life in Healthy Older Adults – https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspor.2021.624947/full