Toastmaster Speech - Why to pursue fulfillment instead of Happiness

Tweaked the earlier content and structure around fulfillment significantly. The objective of the speech is to persuade the audience towards a desired objective. I got some excellent feedback on what can work even better and i will re-post this speech again later after incorporating that feedback.

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Get to the Point – Why to pursue Fulfillment over Happiness

Many of us, nay All of us crave for Happiness. We almost always pursue actions with Happiness as the end goal and in some cases, we crave happiness in every single activity that we do. Whichever form or shape, the pursuit of happiness is a key criteria in any decision that we take. And more often than not, it also proves to be a limiting aspect in our living a full and rich life.

Dear Toastmaster and fellow Toastmasters, today, I am going to present to you an alternate choice to pursue instead of Happiness. That alternate choice is Fulfillment. I am going to give you three reasons on why one should pursue Fulfillment as opposed to Happiness.

I have always held on to this idealistic view that I need to be happy all the time and very often this thought has led to unhappiness. I have realized that more often than not, there are circumstances that we cannot control. At work, there will be activities that I may not enjoy doing. There are relationships that do not work out and instead lead to pain and sadness. Every single one of us will go through worries or sadness. And that’s the whole point. It is important to acknowledge that we are sad or worried at times. This is where fulfillment comes in. Fulfillment means to have an end goal or purpose and to stay true to that purpose. Fulfillment will allow you to fully embrace the range of emotions, when we realize that the blip that we experience is just that, a blip. The more we can embrace our full range of emotions, the more we can develop as a human being and connect better with fellow human beings.

Reason Number 1 – Fulfillment allows us to experience a full range of emotions that in turn develops our character and our connectedness with fellow human beings

I have always wondered what is it that kept people in trying situations going. I have always wondered why parents sacrifice so much for their children. I had a working mother and I have closely observed how even after a tiring day at work, she will continue to give 100% at home, sometimes to the point of exhaustion. Some parents virtually sacrifice their entire lives for their child. I have personally seen my uncle and aunt give 100% of their time tending to my cousin who is a 'special child', day in and day out. The daily activities and burden that they carry at their age is definitely not going to lead to happiness. But the feeling that they experience in being a full time parent, in living their values of service and love – That keeps them fulfilled. Fulfillment will present us with the power to keep going in trying circumstances, by leading a life of values

Reason Number 2 – Fulfillment presents us with the power to keep going in trying circumstances, by leading a life of values

Living a life of values has tremendous potential. For example, if our core value at home is that of a loving husband/wife/son/daughter, then we will go that extra mile in doing the 'boring and thankless tasks', even if we are tired. If personal development is a key value, then we will not worry about 'mundane tasks' or the 'quality of work' or whether the 'effort equals reward' and just focus on being extra productive at completing whatever task is assigned to us. If being a responsible citizen is part of who we are, then we will find that extra time to participate in community tasks that may not be particularly appealing (Cleaning Trash/Streets for example). We may not be happy when we are doing the activity but if we live our values that we identify with, we will feel deeply fulfilled at the end of it. And the Impact to the world around us will be significantly higher.

The more we associate ourselves with fulfillment, the more we get to expand our potential and make a difference to the lives of others.

Reason Number 3 – Fulfillment allows us to expand our potential and make a difference to others

Fulfillment is a very personal concept. It can mean different things to different people. For me, fulfillment is to lead a life of values with a clear sense of purpose and direction. My core values are centered around Family, Personal Development, Connectedness and Service. And I will measure my life by not around how happy I was but around how true I stayed to these values.

I want all of you to explore and introspect on the concept of fulfillment. Please take a few minutes and answer the following questions.

What are your values?

What makes you fulfilled?

What legacy do you want to leave behind in this world by leading a fulfilled life? 

Thank you!