“Over every mountain there is a path, although it may not be seen from the valley.” ~Theodore Roethke
Note: This is a guest post from fellow blogger, Vlad Dolezal.
Lately, I’ve seen an unusually high amount of posts in the blogosphere extolling “being happy with what you have”. They’ve been springing up like mushrooms after a mushroom soup factory explosion.
Unfortunately, most authors leave out crucial details. Like the fact that being fully content with your current situation for an extended period of time is utter nonsense.
A Challenge
After seeing a guest post touching on this topic here on M2bH a few weeks back, I decided to get in touch with Ken to see if he’d let me share my contrarian perspective on this popular topic. Being the curious, open-minded guy that he is, he agreed—so today, I’d like to share why chasing after being fully content in your situation in life is a fool’s dream.
Now, before you grab your pitchfork and run straight to the comment section to tell me that my head is full of bird feed, let me stop you.
First, read a bit below to see what I’m going on about. Only then leave a comment telling me how wrong I am, alright?
The “Be-Happy-with-what-You-Have” Movement
I’m sure you’ve met a person or two who are always unhappy with what they have, always chasing after happiness “out there”. People who complete the statement, “I’ll be happy when…” with material achievements, or status symbols.
Maybe you’ve even been that person.
In response to those people, there sprung up a movement of people promoting the idea that you can be happy with what you have.
Happiness is a state of mind, not a certain amount of possessions or awards.
That’s a great thing. If you’re the sort of person who’s been chasing “I’ll be happy when…” kinds of goals, that’s exactly what you need to hear. If you’re not happy with what you have right now, having more won’t magically make you happy (unless you’re currently starving).
But some authors take this too far. They claim that you can choose happiness in whatever situation you find yourself, and you shouldn’t be looking to make changes.
So you get it in your head that you should be able to be completely content in your current situation. You do gratitude exercises, and meditation, and feel truly happy with what you have for a bit.
Being Human
But then restlessness sets in. You feel like this is not quite it. Your passion for life starts to dip, and you feel the need to chase after some goals. To make changes.
Then you beat yourself up about it, because clearly you haven’t quite got the hang of being happy with what you have.
Don’t. It doesn’t mean you’re a silly westerner with an untamed monkey mind. It means that you’re a wonderful, amazing kind of creature – a human. A completely normal human, exactly as you should be.
It’s part of being human to be unable to be happy in any one static situation for too long.
Let me explain.
Passion in the Climb
There lives a rock-climbing instructor in the UK, named Mal, who has an interesting way of testing applicants for his advanced rock-climbing class.
He has them climb a mountain where, about two thirds of the way up, there’s an overhang. From below, it looks like the top of the mountain, but once you climb over it, you see a big chunk of the mountain still towering over you.
And Mal’s way of testing applicants is simply hiding behind a rock at the overhang and watching the climbers’ expression when they scale the overhang.
Many applicants look disappointed or annoyed that they’re not at the top yet. Mal politely declines these people the entry to his advanced class.
But some applicants… when they scale the overhang and see the mountain looming over them, their eyes light up with excitement at the prospect of more climbing!
Mal welcomes these applicants with open arms.
You will never become an advanced rock-climber if you’re only doing it to reach the top and hate the climbing itself. Real rock-climbers love climbing. A mountain top is merely a goal that gives them focus and challenge.
I love Mal’s example, because it’s such a great metaphor for life itself.
A fulfilling life isn’t static. You don’t just reach the top of a mountain and then sit there happily ever after without moving. You get restless, and itch to climb more.
A fulfilling life is just like that. Dynamic. Striving after worthy goals. Defeating challenges. Growing in the process.
How Do You Define Being Alive?
In fact, it comes to the very definition of life. Biologists define being alive as deliberately impacting your environment.
That’s the difference between a rock and a tree. A rock simply lies there, fully content with its situation. A tree, on the other hand, grows roots, and gathers nutrients, and combines them with carbon from the air to grow a lush green canopy.
If you ever reached a situation where you were completely content with everything you had, and had no more outstanding goals and desires… you’d be dead. As long as you’re alive, that will never happen.
You have a natural, deeply ingrained drive to strive for goals, and impact your surroundings. That’s what makes you truly happy, truly alive.
Even meditation gurus who seem to spend their days sitting around quietly are like that. They’ve just taken their goal-seeking and turned it inwards, constantly perfecting and refining their mental arts.
Which brings us to a fun twist on this “being happy with what you have” idea.
“Being Happy” vs. “Striving for Goals”
So, hoping that you will finally reach happiness, if only you hit that one last goal … is clearly not the answer.
But being fully content with your life isn’t the answer either. You get restless and your passion for life drains.
So what is the answer?
The Joy of Climbing
Just like advanced rock-climbers, they don’t climb to reach the top. They climb for the pure, simple joy of the climb itself.
You won’t find happiness at the end of a rainbow either, or reaching a certain salary or finding a partner to share your life with. These won’t magically make you happy.
Instead, embrace the process of striving.
In my humble opinion, the search for happiness comes down to these steps:
- Accept your current situation. You got here by making what you thought were the best decisions at the time. Give yourself a pat on the back—you’ve grown and learned from all your decisions, both good and bad. It’s okay for you to be exactly where you are.
- Find a Worthy Goal to strive for. Something that aligns with your values, something that makes your heart sing with joy, a goal that makes you weep when you think of it.
- Embrace the process of striving for that goal, step by step. That’s where true happiness lies—in striving to make the world a better, happier place through your actions.
Embrace the striving.
Live.
YOUR TURN …
- What do you think?
- On which side of the debate do you fall?
- Or are you somewhere in the middle?
- We would love to read your thoughts in the comments!
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To find your own Worthy Goal that makes your heart sing, check out Vlad’s e-book How to Find Your Life Purpose (completely free, you don’t even have to leave your e-mail address!). Or if you already have a worthy goal, but are having trouble taking action on it, how about making a personal development plan? Or check out Vlad’s twitter. Or blog. Go wild.
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i strongly agree
i don’t like the “do nothing and be happy” school
there must be some kind of effort exerted
thanks : )
Thanks for the comment, Farouk. To my way of thinking, there are several ways to go about living a happy life. One is to change attitudes. This is easier. Another is to develop character traits that are conducive to happiness. That one is more difficult and takes something from us. Then there are some general life style issues that add to or detract from our happiness as well. I think many people primarily or sometimes even exclusively only factor in the attitudinal characteristics to happiness. So all we have to do is think a certain way (rather than do something or become a certain way) and we’ll be rolling in joy. I think that’s selling happiness a little short.
Unless it’s a Sunday morning, in which case doing nothing is *exactly* the thing to make me happy 😉
Being content with what you have isn’t necessarily the equivalent of being static. I don’t think there are two sides in this argument!
Sandra Pawula recently posted … Limits: The Key to a Thriving Life
I agree with you, Sandra, that there are not necessarily two sides of the argument, that we can be satisfied with life as it is, accepting where we are, for now, while pushing forward, learning and growing and setting goals to move our lives to new desired levels in whatever area of life we feel impressed to move it.
But I do think Val makes an interesting point when some authors emphasize acceptance to the point of toleration (or to the exclusion of taking action to change). But those who build hospitals and feed the hungry and change the world are usually those who can’t tolerate circumstances as they are. They see the unfortunate and can’t stand to do nothing about it. Same with our own lives. Some of us look at our lives and accept things as they are. That can be fine if as they are is beautiful. But how many people stay in ugly relationships and tolerate abusive people int heir lives and accept bad behavior from rude people and do nothing, change nothing, become nothing better than they were before. So aiming at contentment under such circumstances may be counterproductive to changing them.
Does that make sense, Sandra?
Let me know if I’ve misrepresented your point, Val!
Well, you misspelled my name twice. Does that count as misrepresentation? 😉
While you make a great point (that I agree with), the main point of my article is actually pretty much exactly what Sandra said. Being content in your situation and being static are not the two same things. But too many authors push being happy with what you have in such a way that it seems like a static situation can make you happy.
It’s all about being happy in your current situation, which is a situation of constant change and striving for big goals. (Yeah, I picked a catchy title for the blog post, not necessarily one that best sums up my point. 😉 )
I believe the theory about “happy with what you’ve got” goes like this: If you can’t be happy with exactly where you find yourself all of the time, then mainly you’re thinking about the past rather than being in the present. The present moment being all we have, it’s a waste of energy.
If there’s nothing left to strive for, learn about, or become, then you’re right – you’re done here.
Circumstances are kind of irrelevant to happiness – you choose to be in whatever frame of mind you choose to be in. But I always do find that when something undesirable happens, or something scary, that the universe has my back and I can breathe through it rather than give in to it, knowing that it’s shown up for a reason. If I can figure out the reason, then chances for growth and understanding are present. That doesn’t mean I’d enjoy starving. You do have to get past basic survival instincts and needs.
Thanks for a very thoughtful post.
Julie Barrett recently posted … How To Know If You Just Got Scammed By A Psychic Intuitive
Thanks for the clarity of your comment, Julie! I like how you put it.
I think most of life rests on a continuum—contentment too. If I’m right, perhaps “dissatisfied striving” is at one end and “passive acceptance” is at the other. Most of us likely fall somewhere in between.
But the more accepting we are of circumstances, the less motivation we have to change some aspect of it. The less accepting, or the less contentment we have with it, the less likely we are to keep circumstances as they are.
I really like the distinction you made between things you can and things you can’t change. Striving to change my height or nationality would be a futile exercise in self-defeatism.
As for circumstances being irrelevant to happiness, I largely agree (like you intimated with basic survival needs, extreme circumstances like torture and the like would be exceptions), the specific conditions we want to change may be irrelevant, but the growth that comes from the striving isn’t.
But I would love to get your input on all of this, Julie. Do you think some people might dim their happiness by living a life with little personal growth because of the contentment they feel for the life they already have? Just thinking out loud. 🙂
If you’re content then maybe you don’t need personal growth. Some people thrive on figuring all of this out and some people seem not to need it. I think we’re probably all here to live out our plan, and plans vary 🙂
Julie Barrett recently posted … This Is What Happens To You When Your Husband Brings Home A Goat
That’s an interesting way of looking at it, Julie. I think in many ways, you’re largely right. But I wonder if contentment with the way things are doesn’t in some degree limit happiness. I think happiness at its highest includes growth. When we stagnate, even when the stagnation is at a place that’s pretty darned good, we seem to eventually feel something diminish inside. And while we are all living out our plan or something we think it is, there are plenty of people who feel lost and plan-less.
Others may indeed be on the course they’ve set for themselves, but because of something missing, something they’ve overlooked or never thought of or simply omitted for any number of reasons, they cut themselves short. Much of the work personal development bloggers do is to try to help those interested see life from a different perspective, to reach a little higher or in new ways than they’ve reached before.
So plans do vary … very (that was my nod to Dr. Seuss!). But not all plans are the best plans or even very good ones at all. Believe me, I’ve listened to some plans from some people that were really quite terrible. There are even some pretty awful historic figures who tried to act our some pretty awful plans. So maybe contentment with mediocrity (or worse) can be replaced by a sort of distant contentment in the nearish future with something much better than a mediocre life.
OK, all that said, I still like your larger point. Not everyone needs to face their fears by bungee jumping off a 747 over a shark-infested waters while juggling bowling balls. Maybe contentment with things the way they are and a life the way it is isn’t always something in need of some personal developmental shock therapy.
Thanks for the insight, Julie (and for your patience with my long-winded replies). 🙂
Spot on. It doesn’t matter too much what situation you find yourself in, but rather the direction you start taking from there.
Once I was working as a broker to seal a high fee transaction, but both parties were adamant on certain issues and that was really frustrating. Look at my agony and desperation, my colleague said ” Work hard, but don’t kill yourself”. The deal did not materialize, however his words gave me a certain assurance that everything will be fine. I believe that we should strive to improve our lives by setting high goals, but enjoy life along the way. So ‘DON’T KILL YOURSELF’.
Exactly, Zaffy. When done right, big, crazy goals make a life MORE enjoyable, not less!
I like that Zaffy: Set “high goals, but enjoy life along the way.” That’s very well said.
It may be a fine line between setting goals that push you so hard you never look around to enjoy what’s around you and setting them so low, you never have to even jog to reach them.
Thanks for the comment!
Hi Vlad, I think I knew where you were going with this the moment I saw the title. If you’ve ever read Wallace D. Wattles’ famous “The Science of Getting Rich” (which inspired the film “The Secret”) he opens the book by saying that “to be content with less” than all you are capable of being and doing and having “is sinful.” Those are pretty bold words I’d say, but I do agree. There is a fine line between being continually unhappy (in which NOTHING will make you happy) and in having ZERO ambition. I think the ambition key is the thing you’re getting at. Great ways of wording this. Pleasure to meet you.
Ken, I hope you’re well!
Bryan Thompson recently posted … How to Turn Your Funk Into Decisive Action
Hey Bryan!
I wouldn’t say a person *has to* use their potential if they don’t want to. They can lie around on a lawn watching grass grow all day long if they want. But in my experience, as you say, ambition is the key to feeling happy and alive. 😉
Hey, Bryan. Good to see you, my friend. Yes, I am well and hope all is wonderful on your side of the block too.
I hadn’t known that about Wallace D. Wattles. As someone who is not a fan of The Secret or of LOA in general, I never even made it through the book. Actually, I listened to about half of it on CD in the car before I had to turn it off or gouge my ears out (hope I’m not stepping on too many toes here).
But I do like the idea. Living somewhere south of our potential is inevitable. But willfully choosing to is another thing. To know you’re capable of being a better parent and choosing not to bother is something particularly ignoble and is not the of the same moral fiber as someone who tries and simply falls short to the same degree. I would also call that sin.
Thanks so much for that insight, Bryan.
I also like what you said about the danger of wading into the waters of never being happy, that nothing is ever good enough. Happiness depends on a degree of acceptance, of contentment with the life we’re living. So it is a balance, for sure.
Awesome comment, my friend. Thanks for stopping by.
Hi Vlad, you bring us some really great points in this post that are thought provoking. I am very much in the camp that says, “Be happy with what you have” but I equally agree in the statement “grow or die.” So I’m more like the Rumi quote, “Out beyond right doing and wrong doing, there is a field. I will meet you there.”
One big problem is that most of us are looking for the easy or fast solution to life, and it isn’t that easy OR fast. As you say at the conclusion of your post, the best rock-climbers climb because they love it. In other words, it’s important to do what you love and you will be happy with however it turns out.
On the other hand, don’t fall into the trap of believing that unless you are dissatisfied with your life or what’s going on, you’ll never change or “strive.” The truth is that unhappy or deeply unsatisfied people don’t have the energy, courage and/or creativity to make productive progress either.
Ultimately, the most productive, creative, innovative, generous and compassionate people on the planet are those who are happy and content in the moment–experiencing what they are doing right now to its fullest. Of course in the next moment they will be there doing what that moment calls for fully and completely. I just don’t believe it is a black or white issue.
Either way, thanks for raising such provocative ideas. ~kg
Kathy recently posted … Rendering Unto Caesar and Other Thoughts During Tax Season
Spot on, Kathy. I’ve also noticed that while unpleasant emotions (like anger) *can* be used for driving behaviour, most of the time they just sap your energy and motivation.
Hi Kathy,
You make a great point about the tendency people have these days to find the trick, the shortcut and way around the necessary work that’s required for successes in any field of life.
It’s an interesting question about satisfaction. On the one hand, a deeply dissatisfied life can become overwhelming to do anything about. And so personal growth doesn’t occur or only painfully slow. But on the other hand, do people really do much growing when they are satisfied?
If I’m satisfied with the recipe, I stop changing it. When I’m satisfied with my weight, I stop losing it. When I’m satisfied with my book, I stop editing it. So, do people truly behave that differently when they are satisfied with their lives? Do they really take significant steps to change when they like things the way they are (the definition of satisfaction)? It’s an interesting question I only pose and don;t pretend to know the answer.
But it seems like a certain degree of dissatisfaction with things would promote more growth than otherwise—so long as the dissatisfaction isn’t overwhelming or self-defeating in some way.
For me, I experience what you might call dissatisfied satisfaction. I’m satisfied generally, but driven in specific areas I passionately want to see grow. So my dissatisfaction is very isolated and specific, but also fairly mild. There is no self-condemnation at all. But I truly do want to see my blog take off and reach millions of people a day, for instance.
So I work hard at it. I love what I do and how I do it, but work hard to see it mature and improve. Would I work to grow and improve it if I was satisfied with it as is? I’m not so sure I would.
A topic that I have struggled with for years. I use to chase everything material as I believed that it would bring me happiness. As we know, things don’t bring happiness on a deeper level. I actually lost everything due to business mistakes and spent a decade learning how to be happy with very little. It got to the point where I was actually believing that this was the way to go, however imo this is not the case. Yes, we all need to learn to create inner peace and happiness, however we are here to achieve, conquer and be victorious. This includes enjoying all the good things that have been provided for us. So don’t settle for 2nd best, go and claim what you believe belongs to you.
Wade Balsdon recently posted … Finding the best way to diet
Thanks for your thoughts and experience, Wade. Life is such an incredible (and unforgiving) teacher, right? But oh the lessons we learn when we listen … and capture the right message!
It’s sort of funny how some will reference Buddhist monks to make the case for contentment and the end of striving. But they forget how hard they’ve worked on themselves in order to reach that goal.
We don’t all need to be pursuing the same goals or striving for the same things, but to lay down in the valley of life and say, “That’s it. No more. I’m done growing. I’ve finished early and it’s time to stop” is to shortchange the very purpose of our lives.
I wonder if chasing material things could work as an approach to happiness, as long as you enjoy the striving itself, and know that as soon as you achieve those material things, they lose most of their attraction. Hmmm.
Difficult one to answer Vlad, I have waited for 11+ years to have cable TV and I believe that it will be a frosty day in hell before it loses its appeal to me. Likewise the ability to have more than just mince in my fridge 🙂
Wade Balsdon recently posted … Finding the best way to diet
Haha! True Wade, there are some things in life that provide us with a whole lot of joy even if typically and in most cases, such things become normalized as we become habituated to them.
My guitar and laptop are such pleasure-providing things that seem to keep dishing out the joy for me.
Yes – I once read that researching and comparison shopping can be very much like hunting because the interest is in the chase. But after investing all of the time learning, searching, and sorting options, once the purchase is made, there’s a only a small surge of triumph, and that’s that. You are the proud owner of a widget (hopefully something you’ll actually use). So, along that line of reasoning, shoppers might do better to chase an elusive, perfect item, and never make the final purchase. Then they’d be entertained and get to keep their money. And they’d be… happy with what they had.
(Or more perhaps more believably, we could suggest fishing with friends, enjoying the outdoors, and hoping never to actually hook a fish. And so on).
I agree that striving and being happy with that you have are not mutually exclusive. It’s the “pain of not having something” that people inflict on themselves that is a misery (where “something” could be a golden parrot, or something else that’s not a basic requirement for living). Beware the golden parrot. Or the all consuming need to have the most expensive car ever sold to man. 😉
I like this post! It is hard to find a balance between striving really hard for something and being content. I often find myself striving for a goal and being so focused on attaining that goal sometimes that I lose focus of why I am even doing it. I have never been one to be completely content with my life to the point where I was not motivated to do anything or progress in some way, but I do struggle with the feeling of being lazy when I am not working on something to further my future. I guess I am still too focused on the future in general. It is hard for me to live in the moment. I am very grateful for the things that I have in my life and I am happy overall, but thinking and planning for the future is my default thought process. I have to catch myself and really capture the moment often.
I am going to strive tho “enjoy the climb” more often! Thanks for the reminder.
Shawn Ryan recently posted … Creating affirmations for success
Hey Shawn, you spell out an important part of this discussion.
I guess I would identify it by this question: Can we live in the moment while planning, thinking about and striving for a future goal?
Personally, I don’t think there is a contradiction here. At least not necessarily. I can enjoy the moment, the process of planning, envisioning the future, the effort extended in developing and creating that future, here and now, in the moment. The planning might be in preparation for the future, but I’m doing it now, in the moment, and enjoying the creativity of the process.
If I’m obsessing and worrying about and stressing over the future and the planning for it and so forth, that can be problematic. But it doesn’t have to be that way if we can learn to love the day-to-day development of the future.
I think you nailed it on the head with your last statement: “I am going to strive the enjoy the climb.”
I tend to be too much the opposite – being in the moment so often, I tend to not do enough planning to advance my big goals in life.
Maybe you and me can swap a part of our brains, so that we both get a good balance? 😉
Be happy in the moment, that is my motto.
Josh recently posted … How To Become A Better Blogger- Resources & Suggestions
Good motto, Josh. It’s actually impossible to be happy any other time. Happiness while thinking about the past or anticipating the future is still experienced now, in the moment.
Still, too many people spend too much time unhappy in the moment because they are preoccupied with worry for the future and regret over the past. That’s not a very good investment in the value of the moment, is it!
Thanks for visiting, Josh.
I completely agree. A sense of achievement is a natural human requirement and we all need it in our lives even if we don’t think we do.
Thanks for your thoughts, Mark. There does seem to be something innate about humankind’s drive for achievement. The trick is to make sure those pursuits are in line with natural law and principle-based values. Otherwise, lives can get out of whack and turned upside down.
Hey Vlad!
I just wanted to thank you for a thought-provoking guest post here. For me, I think the key is to figure out a good balance. Your bullet pointed summary is good. Satisfaction with where you are, or with what you’ve done given where you’ve been, and enough discontent to move us forward.
I agree that a life that is perfectly content is one that probably doesn’t do much growing anymore. But a life void of growth is one that becomes stale.
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts here, Vlad. You generated some good discussion. Appreciated, my friend!
Thanks Vlad and Ken for your responses to my comment. This is SUCH a deep and juicy issue because it brings up so many of our internal beliefs about motivation and growth! Have you ever read a book by a guy named Barry Neil Kaufman called “The Happiness Option?” He’s done a ton of work around the idea that choosing happiness is something available to us all at any time–in spite of how difficult the circumstances. He addresses the issue of motivation and insists that when we are happy and at peace we come from joy, inspiration and creativity–rather than any type of dissatisfaction. He makes an excellent case for it and I highly recommend you check him out if interested…. I too want my blog to grow and my books to sell but I’m determined to come from place where that desire flows from a place of fun, excitement, curiosity and connection. Creative and curious people change recipes, write books, and do everything because they want to and CAN! It’s been my experience that my best work comes when I am deeply engaged in what I love, not when I’m striving HARD to force something–and because I follow your blog I’m thinking you do too… 🙂 I vastly prefer inspiration–rather than perspiration! Anyway, thanks for allowing me to express myself here and I’m as always, looking forward to future posts! ~kg
Kathy recently posted … In Search of Passion, Excitement & Meaning From Fifty Shades of Grey
You make some great points, Kathy. And yes, inspiration is at the heart of what I do. I am madly in love with it, as a matter of fact. But while my work comes from a place of creativity and passion, I have to admit that some of the drive comes from a yearning to change the world, to change the way people think about happiness. I do believe happiness can be experienced as the direct result of the choices we make, the perspectives we choose, the thoughts we harbor and the attitudes we develop. But I also believe happiness at its highest potential takes a lot of hard work overcoming obstacles and developing traits conducive to it.
While I don’t force my work generally, I do sometimes. There are times I would simply rather sit in front of the TV and veg out. I almost never do because I feel a sense of urgency to make happiness more universally understood and experienced, to grow my blog for that sake, to reach more people, to inspire more minds, to offer more food for thought that affects more people and the happiness that lurks int eh shadows of possibility. So there is some degree of dissatisfaction with the way things exist today that propels me forward to write and create.
I think most people who do what they love for a living have those moments when striving is what gets them to the point of passion. It’s what separates those who do what they love as a hobby and those who reach a wider audience.
Thanks for the book recommendation. I’ll definitely check it out. I’ve seen it loitering around the bookshelves, but haven’t yet picked up a copy. It’s now on my list. 🙂
And thanks once more for the insight. Loved both of your comments.
I believe it is all in the way you look at contentment and happiness, the two don’t always have a direct correlation.
Let me give an example of my own – five years ago my husband and I lived off of just fifty dollars a month. This meant that we didn’t go out, we learned to live off the land and trade for things we could not buy. Most people may classify that as hardship, I call it a lesson in life. Were we able to smile and be happy through those two years living under the same conditions? Yes. Because we knew it would not last forever.
If all life events were in your control than everybody could have everything they ever wanted. So I can say that we were content with little, but it wasn’t enough. Our current situation is that we have (some) more money, but much less stuff to fill our home and we are the same “happy”. We are grateful for the roof over our head, for our land and fruit trees, for the internet connection… we are content, not fully content, but we have joy in our hearts, so long as we can provide for ourselves the things we need for creative and intellectual survival.
Perhaps this puts me somewhere in the middle, no two stories are the same. Life is a wonderful combination of past, present and future – choose your time wisely.
I just started a blog focused on helping people realize what they really want and that it is attainable.
I noticed every blog post I see about being happy was really about being content with not being happy!
I thought I was alone until now.
Jacob recently posted … HOW YOU WILL CHANGE THE WORLD TODAY
Glad you found company and a kindred spirit here, Jacob. I’d be interested to see what you thought about some of my posts on happiness. Check out a few here and let me know.
Interesting post Vlad. I believe that we should attempt to achieve as much as possible during our short stay here on Mother Earth. Being content with what you have could open the door to stagnating and that must be the ultimate crime 🙂
Neil Butterfield recently posted … Fun Exercise Ideas for the Whole Family
Happiness — it’s what we all strive to find and keep, even when it’s as elusive as ever. Nobody is happy all the time, but some people are definitely more fulfilled than others. Studies reveal that happiness has little to do with material goods or high achievement; it boils down to your outlook on life, the quality of your relationships, and basic amenities like good governance and community resources. Read on for more tips and tricks on how to unlock the happier you.
Meghan V. Chen recently posted … No last blog posts to return.
[…] Why Being Fully Content With What You Have is Utter Nonsense […]
Life is too short to always be sad and miserable. So cheer up, and be happy! Only we can make ourselves happy in life. Sometimes we need to stop enjoy the little things in life every once in awhile. Here’s some steps on how to make yourself happy. You can do it!
Denis Rodriquez recently posted … No last blog posts to return.
Thanks for the comment, Denis! “Only we can make ourselves happy.” — So true. So long as we place our happiness outside of us, in how others treat us or speak to us or how much we make or what job we have, then we will always be the the whim of others.