11 Reasons Why You Feel Unfulfilled in Life

Living your life the way that you want can be hard. A lot of people feel unfulfilled with their lives and there’s many reasons for this. The goal of this blog post is to identify common reason people feel unfulfilled and help find a solution.

Readers, we want you to think deeply about this subject. Self-awareness and reflection is the key to stop living an unhappy life. We’re here to help you figure out how you can better your life and enjoy yourself more.

This blog post is all about the reasons why you feel unfulfilled.

1. You Compare Yourself to Your Friends

You see your friends accomplishing their goals or making progress and you don’t feel as if you are accomplishing yours. When you see your friends reach a new milestone, it makes you sad or angry, instead of happy for them. 

It can be hard to deal with this jealousy because you feel conflicted. While you want to support your favorite people, it can just lead to depression. It doesn’t make you a bad person, it just makes you human. Our advice is to stay away from social media when you feel this way and take some time for yourself. 

2. You Compare Yourself to Your Parents

You have not done as much as your parents had at your age. This can be a tricky one because generations are different and the cost of living/education has increased much more in the last 50 years than the average annual salary. So, making a comparison is difficult because the state of the world is much different.

Also, you may be in a completely different field than your parents, so you’re comparing apples to oranges. The best way to cope with this is to be realistic of all the differences between generations, time periods and between you and your parents. 

Lastly, there is no timeline for success. You don’t have to have your life completely figured out when you’re young and no matter your age, you can change course.

3. You Don’t Have a Plan

You don’t know what you want to do with your life, so you have no way of knowing how close you are to achieving your goals. All you know is that what you’re doing now isn’t making you happy. 

This is the time for some serious reflection. Start journaling all of the things in your life that currently make you unhappy, such as your job, relationship, etc. Then start brainstorming things that would make you happy and fulfilled. If you’re unsure, consider some alternate careers. Consider what your life could look like if you decided to start a business or do something different. 

You don’t have to have a completed plan, just start one. It’s time to take action and learn more about what you want and need. 

4. You’re Not Living Up to Your Expectations

You haven’t done as much as you thought you would have by this point in your life. Maybe when you were younger you expected to have your dream job, be a homeowner and have a family all before turning 30. 

Not accomplishing this does not mean you’re a failure and overall, people need to stop holding themselves to rigid and broad timelines, especially for things they cannot control like meeting their significant other. 

If you’re not meeting your expectations, consider why that is, at least for aspects of your life that you can control. Instead of setting a due date, start writing actionable steps that you can take each day. For example, if you’d like to become an author, set goals like writing a certain number of words or querying a certain number of agents. 

5. You Chose to be Practical

One reason people feel unfulfilled, especially young adults, is because they don’t go after what they truly want. We’re told to go to school and get a practical job. But that lifestyle isn’t for everyone. 

Unfulfilled people typically went to school for something they don’t enjoy, just because they could get a good paying job. For example, this is why many people become engineers, even if it isn’t their passion.

While we’re not recommending doing something crazy or on a whim, we do recommend taking the time to pursue what you want out of life. Even if it seems unrealistic to some people, it’s worth giving it a try. You can always figure out a backup plan. 

6. Your Relationship is Going Nowhere

Having a bad romantic relationship in your life is one reason you might feel unfulfilled. It might seem easier just to stay together out of habit. You might feel unsure or afraid of what your life will be like if you end things.

If you’re unhappy, but still think there is a chance, try couple’s therapy. But if you know this person isn’t right for you, it’s better to end things now than years down the road when you’ve become even more dependent on each other. If it sounds scary, confide in someone you trust. Talking things out always helps.

7. You Need to Shake Things Up

Do you feel like you’re in a rut and that your days are all based on the same boring routine? It’s time to shake things up. This could be doing anything you might not usually do.

Maybe go for a walk after dinner instead of sitting down and watching your usual show or order dinner from a place you haven’t tried before. Doing anything to get away from your regular routine can help you feel like you have some sort of control.

And if you have the time and resources available to you, do even more. Consider visiting someplace new to get out of your head. This is especially helpful for creative people. Or try something adventurous that scares you. Having exciting experiences is one of the most fulfilling things you can do.

8. You Should Surround Yourself with Better People

Romantic relationships aren’t the only reason people feel unhappy. It can be because of other people in your life as well, including people you know personally and professionally.

If the people around you make you feel badly about yourself, it’s time to cut them out. If your friends make you miserable, it’s time to set some boundaries and distance. If your co-workers are terrible people, consider looking for a new job or seeing if you can transfer to a different program area. 

The truth is that if you’re around miserable people, you’re going to be miserable. 

9. You’re Not Taking Risks

Have you always played it safe and your life is now mediocre because of it? It’s time to take a risk. Well, a calculated risk. It’s not the time to use all your money to join an MLM or invest in something unusual.

It is the time to explore your passions. A lot of people never go after what they want because fear holds them back. Stop being afraid and try. We get it, it’s easier said than done. However, as two aspiring authors, we get how hard it is to put yourself out there, no matter what you’re pursuing. But never trying is the worst situation because you’re guaranteeing that you won’t accomplish your goals.

10. You Need a Change of Scenery

A reason you feel unfulfilled is because you dislike where you currently live. It could be as simple as moving someplace close by or deciding you’re meant to live in a different country. We understand that this has financial restraints, so it isn’t possible for everyone.

However, if you’re unhappy because of where you are and have the ability to go somewhere new, give it a chance. You don’t have to decide on a whim or jump into anything. You can simply give it a chance by attempting short-term travel to the destination.

For example, if you hate the winter, but live in Alaska, it might be time to consider going somewhere with a milder climate.

11. You Haven’t Taken the Time to a Understand What You Truly Want and Need

Everything goes back to being self-aware. To truly feel fulfilled in life, you need a good grasp of what you want and need right now. This isn’t something that can happen overnight. This takes time, especially if you haven’t given it enough thought.

We’re asking you to really take some uninterrupted time for yourself to process everything we wrote above. Then, start writing down what your ideal life looks like and what you can do to get there. It might not be easy, but if you’re not doing what you want with your life, it’s necessary.

The goal of this exercise is the be selfish. Yes, you read that correctly. Stop thinking about your life in terms of everyone else in it. You need to take the time to figure out exactly what you want and need. Whether it’s small changes or big decisions, start thinking about your future.