Are you happy?
Not just a few moments of happiness here and there.
But a deep, consistent satisfaction in life.
Or are you always discontent?
Do you feel like you never have enough?
You strive and you strive. You try harder and harder. But you can never get the things you want. You’re always lacking.
Should You Be Content?
This is not to say that you should settle. You should seek to improve your quality of life and achieve a higher level of significance.
But if at the expense of experiencing joy and satisfaction right where you’re at, then you’re discontent.
This is also not to say that there aren’t any challenges in you’re life.
But if you’re reading this post on a computer connected to the internet, you have a lot more to be thankful for than you realize.
Being content not only affects your own personal well-being, it affects the well-being of those around you.
Here’s why you’re discontent, and how you can fix it.
1. You’re Comparing Yourself to Others
You’re always looking at what other people have and using that as the benchmark.
Their house. Their car. Their job. Their spouse. Their tech. Their lifestyle.
And it’s usually people that have more than you. You never really look at what they don’t have, but only what they do have.
Stop comparing yourself.
As long as you keep yearning for what others have, you’ll never have enough.
[bctt tweet=”As long as you keep yearning for what others have, you’ll never have enough.”]
2. You Don’t Realize What You Already Have
If you’re reading this post, you already have so much more than the rest of the world.
[bctt tweet=”If you’re reading this post, you already have so much more than the rest of the world.”]
Of course, it’s easy to take what you have for granted. You’ve always had it.
You compare what you don’t have to people who are more well-off than you. But how often do you compare what you do have to people who are less well-off than you?
Your house. Your car. Your job. Your family. Your things. Your health.
There are a lot of people don’t have those that, but you do.
3. You Have a Sense of Entitlement
You already know that people have less than you, but it doesn’t really matter. You’ve always had it. And you always expect to have it.
You feel entitled, though you would never use that word.
You feel like you deserve those things, like they’re rights rather than privileges.
The truth is we don’t deserve anything.
Sure, you may have worked hard to get to where you’re at. But think your starting point.
Not everyone starts out equal. Your health, you family’s soci0-economic status, your access to education, your country’s freedom and security – you didn’t earn any of that.
Many people don’t start out with the same advantages, so be grateful that for some unknown reason, you got a head start.
4. You Don’t Know What You Want
If you always feel like you don’t have enough, you may not know what enough is. You want more money, more success, more stuff – but what exactly is more?
You generally have an idea of what you want, but you don’t know exactly. So it’s never enough.
Start by identifying your goals and being specific about them.
How much money do you want to make to be content? What kind of car do you want to own. What kind of house do you want to live in?
What are other tangible and intangible goals (but measurable) that you have?
Once you reach them, it’ll help you realize that you’ve gotten what you were working towards. It’ll help with bringing a level of contentment.
That doesn’t mean that you can’t set goals beyond that. But it does help you realize that you really do have enough.
5. You’re Confused About What You Really Want
Even if you set goals and achieve them, you may not feel satisfied. So your only conclusion is you need more of it. But that wont help.
You’re not looking for material things, you’re looking for immaterial things. You’re confused about what you need. Actually, you’re confused about what you want and what you need.
You’re actually searching for things that money can’t buy – joy, love, value, significance, peace.
It’s what we’re all searching for, and we’re desperately trying to work and buy our way towards it.
Rather than trying to find more, take a deeper look at what’s already in front of you. I guarantee you’ll start seeing what you’re looking for.
Your relationships, your job, your community – you have access to so much already.
Take a second look.