Life is full of ups and downs and there is no one in this world who has never experienced this in life. Every one of us experience happiness and struggles in our life journey, but often we believe that others don’t struggle as much or seem to have a better or happier life than us. Does this sound familiar to you?
WHAT MAKES SOMEONE DISCONTENT
There are different reasons that make us discontent with our life, e.g.:
- When we see others having good things happen to them, while we miss out, e.g. a better job, a new car, a bigger house, another holiday, etc.
- When we start comparing what others have to what we don’t have, and we believe what we see in others from how it looks on the outside, causing us to feel sad or sour with how we see ourselves from the inside, e.g. “They always look happy and are smiling, while we have struggles that seem never-ending”.
- When we have the “I won’t miss out” attitude. Many subconsciously chase after what others have and have done because we believe that if we don’t keep up with them, then we will miss out in life.
- When we have the wrong belief that “the more we have, the happier we will be”. The fact is that we won’t necessarily feel happy and content when we have more things.
HOW CAN I BE CONTENT?
Feeling content is a personal choice and decision, that will make you happy and satisfied with your life. It means that you are the only one who can make yourself feel content or not, and not because of other people or how many things you have.
Here are some practical steps that will help you to find contentment:
- Counting the good things you have. Perhaps you are troubled by sickness, exhaustion, trials, opposition, temptation, attacks, etc.. At this point in time, make a choice and a decision today to start counting the good things you do have. If you count one thing each day, you will slowly feel content with your life.
- Stop comparing. Comparing is the worst enemy to yourself, and it is a choice and a decision that you need to make to stop comparing yourself with others. Remember that each person has their own “cross” to bear. What you see in others from the outside can be different from what they actually experience, so do not make any conclusions based on what you see.
- Learn to celebrate others’ successes. Seeing or hearing of others’ successes can make us feel jealous or bitter with our own life. Celebrating others’ success will help you to feel better about yourself as a person, and that will increase your feeling of contentment with your life.
- Knowing what is enough for you. We live in a culture of “I don’t want to miss out” through social media, advertisements, promotions, etc., In the past, we only had a few celebrations – Easter, Christmas/New Year, Birthday, Wedding anniversary. Nowadays we have Valentines Day, Easter, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Children’s Day, Dating Anniversary, Wedding Anniversary, Birthdays, Christmas/New Year, and through the year we make ourselves so busy thinking about another present that we need to buy or get from each other. Happiness more relates to life “quality” than the “quantity” of what you have! So you need to define yourself what is enough for you, then you will feel content with your life.
- Helping those who are in need, whether in monetary or physical help, will help you feel content with your life. As you see others’ lives who are in need, you will have more to appreciate about your life, who you are and what you have.
FEELING CONTENT IS A CHOICE AND A DECISION!