In a recent work, we introduced a theoretical model for fulfillment in life that covers cognitive and affective components and distinguishes different time frames. The present study evaluates this model and describes the construction of the Fulfilled Life Scale (FLS) to assess fulfillment regarding the whole lived life retrospectively…. We identified three optimal factors, which we labeled unfolded self and life, the worthwhile life, and positive impact and legacy…. Notably, cognitive and affective fulfillment incrementally predicted a global rating of a fulfilled life and mental well-being, even after controlling for subjective and eudaimonic well-being. Overall, the study proves that the FLS is necessary to capture people’s experience of a fulfilled life, which could not be assessed sufficiently with previous well-being measures. Both cognitive and affective fulfillment were able to predict additional variance in mental well-being. Moreover, the study reveals psychometric support for the FLS and presents the first evidence on its validity. Lastly, applications in research and practice are discussed, especially in the context of living and aging well in the second half of life.
If psychologists wish to improve the human condition, it is not enough to help those who suffer. The majority of “normal” people also need examples and advice to reach a richer and more fulfilling existence (Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi, 2000, p. 10).
From the inception of the field, positive psychology has emphasized fulfillment in life (FiL) as a central topic. Though the term has appeared regularly in the literature, virtually no related research has taken place. This gap in the research can be attributed to the lack of a theoretical conceptualization and the absence of an instrument for its assessment (Baumann and Ruch, 2021). Consequently, we proposed a definition along with a theoretical model for FiL that distinguishes several time frames, from fulfillment in an activity to perceiving one’s life as fulfilled. The present study serves as a next step, having the objective to test this model and develop a measure that will assess a fulfilled life. We decided to focus on a fulfilled life in retrospect, as taking the whole lived life into account for an evaluation seems to have the greatest relevance, more than a fulfilling activity or having had a fulfilling life at a particular life stage. What counts is that individuals can look back and arrive at the conclusion that their lives were fulfilled….
We defined FiL as “a cognitive-affective experience referring to a sense of wholeness, fit, and value toward the self, one’s life, and one’s impact” (Baumann and Ruch, 2021, p. 6). Accordingly, a fulfilled life refers to the positive appraisal of the person one has become, how one has led one’s life, and the impact one has made….
A fulfilled life might be measured in different ways. Fulfillment is subjective in nature, which must be acknowledged in measurement…. The anchoring may be established by having participants first describe their most apt example of a fulfilled life and then stipulate how close their own life is to their self-defined ideal. This latter approach is the one we chose for validation purposes….
Better educated individuals reported higher levels in the global rating and all dimensions with the numerically highest coefficient for the Unfolded Self and Life and the lowest coefficient for The Worthwhile Life. In contrast, whether individuals were employed or retired was not associated with fulfillment. Persons in a financially better position reported higher levels of fulfillment in all dimensions, except for Positive Impact/Legacy. Volunteers, in comparison to non-volunteers, had higher scores on the dimensions of Positive Impact and Legacy and cognitive fulfillment…. Individuals with better self-evaluated health reported higher levels of fulfillment in the global rating and all dimensions. Finally, a good childhood experience was positively associated with all fulfillment dimensions, except Positive Impact/Legacy….
The major discovery is that fulfillment regarding the self and one’s life is empirically more intertwined than expected, at least, in terms of the criteria of wholeness and fit. Conceptually, one can postulate a reciprocal relationship between developing the self and having led a fulfilled life, which might have facilitated the intertwining. Both sources are sufficiently different from impact/legacy, where the three criteria intercorrelated so highly that this factor could be extracted. The other surprising deviation is that the value of self and life intercorrelated so highly that they formed a separate factor.
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