as in self-actualization
the feeling of being happy and satisfied because you are doing something that fully uses your abilities and talents
She found self-fulfillment by starting her own business.
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Recent Examples of self-fulfillment
But this is a Norman Lear comedy after all (his last before passing in late 2023) — so by the end of the first episode, the hilarious sitcom has revealed its true interest in acceptance, forgiveness, and self-fulfillment.
—
Michael Cuby, Them., 17 Nov. 2025
And increasingly, women are choosing solitude and self-fulfillment over unsatisfying relationships.
—Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025
Founders have a wide range of personal reasons for making the pivot, from seeking self-fulfillment to meeting a strategic need in their next chapter.
—Nina Ajemian, Fortune, 24 July 2025
Turner-Seed’s own writing lays bare a struggle for self-fulfillment, to reconcile the traditional values pushed by her Jewish immigrant parents with a restless need to discover and make her own way.
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 13 June 2025
The film explores the dilemma of choosing between self-fulfillment and familial obligations, showing how Joyce learns to embrace her mother’s modern family business and reflecting on the challenges of a globalized generation.
—Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 8 Apr. 2025
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: Maslow's model highlights the importance of psychological and self-fulfillment needs.
—Raquel Gomes, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025
These cultures tend to view divorce as a justifiable and often necessary step toward self-fulfillment.
—Mark Travers, Forbes, 16 Mar. 2025
This is Mascaro’s most humane film to date, which isn’t to say that August Winds and Neon Bull weren’t also grounded in the individual’s struggle for self-fulfillment outside the strictures of bourgeois circumscribed society.
—Jay D. Weissberg, Deadline, 18 Feb. 2025
Michael Cuby, Them., 17 Nov. 2025
And increasingly, women are choosing solitude and self-fulfillment over unsatisfying relationships.
—Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025
Founders have a wide range of personal reasons for making the pivot, from seeking self-fulfillment to meeting a strategic need in their next chapter.
—Nina Ajemian, Fortune, 24 July 2025
Turner-Seed’s own writing lays bare a struggle for self-fulfillment, to reconcile the traditional values pushed by her Jewish immigrant parents with a restless need to discover and make her own way.
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 13 June 2025
The film explores the dilemma of choosing between self-fulfillment and familial obligations, showing how Joyce learns to embrace her mother’s modern family business and reflecting on the challenges of a globalized generation.
—Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 8 Apr. 2025
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: Maslow's model highlights the importance of psychological and self-fulfillment needs.
—Raquel Gomes, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025
These cultures tend to view divorce as a justifiable and often necessary step toward self-fulfillment.
—Mark Travers, Forbes, 16 Mar. 2025
This is Mascaro’s most humane film to date, which isn’t to say that August Winds and Neon Bull weren’t also grounded in the individual’s struggle for self-fulfillment outside the strictures of bourgeois circumscribed society.
—Jay D. Weissberg, Deadline, 18 Feb. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-fulfillment
- self-actualization
- self-realization
- self-discovery
- self-exploration
- meditation
- introspection
- self-reflection
- self-examination
Noun
-
Stephanie Ahn 1 hour 59 minutes Bedford Park, Stephanie Ahn’s poignant directorial debut, follows Audrey on her path toward something like self-actualization, sparked by a chance encounter with a similarly lonely soul.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Taking the main character’s famous journey of self-realization every night.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
21 Dec. 2025
-
Although that self-realization is timeless, Roder cannily positions it to speak to contemporary times.—
Stephen Saito,
Variety,
23 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
At the same time, Neptune, your celestial ruler, enters Aries, shifting your focus from self-discovery to self-worth.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Climbing the career ladder can sometimes be a journey of self-discovery.—
Mena Mirhom,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
This rigorous self-exploration continued past the point that his disease cost him control of his hands.—
Helen Shaw,
New Yorker,
26 Nov. 2025
-
Many of his clients are women, often in their 30s to 60s, seeking meaningful self-exploration.—
Matthew Kayser,
USA Today,
3 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Studies have shown that meditation can help lower blood pressure, boost immunity, improve sleep, and slow memory loss.—
Kris Slugg,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Jan. 2026
-
People come on silent retreat for a week or two at a time and spend most of their days sitting in the Zendo—the meditation hall—facing a wall or tracing walking meditations on the gravel paths that meander through Upaya’s gardens.—
Michael Pollan,
The Atlantic,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Niazi appears uninterested in asserting her voice on the page, a lack of literary care that seems connected to her tendency—odd in a memoir—to nudge away from introspection.—
Lily Meyer,
The Atlantic,
29 Jan. 2026
-
The effect demands a more active degree of introspection than the average documentary, and Marczak’s unwavering commitment to that endurance test approach has a powerful way of messing with viewer expectations.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
This is why assessments that encourage self-reflection can be useful — not as diagnoses, but as mirrors.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Some writers with Murphy’s body of work, then, would see a show like The Beauty as an opportunity for self-reflection and self-critique, but this has never been the thing that Ryan Murphy does best.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
In an era where analytics and ever-growing coaching staffs allow teams to self-scout every week, the Patriots seem to have taken a more traditional approach and decided on a makeover after a self-examination last month during their bye.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
17 Jan. 2026
-
Some time spent in self-examination could yield new insights.—
Magi Helena,
Dallas Morning News,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Self-fulfillment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-fulfillment. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.
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