What role does contentment play in your happiness?
Paul White's nationally distributed syndicated column, “What role does contentment play in your happiness?” is published in 22 publications across seven states. This includes the following newspapers and digital publications: Midland Daily News (MI), SFGate (CA), Seattle PI (WA), Connecticut Post (CT), Laredo Morning Times (TX), Huron Daily Tribune (MI), The Telegraph (IL), and more. In this week's article, you will find Paul's five simple steps to bring the power of contentment to the forefront of your life and experience consistent joy, happiness, and personal growth!
It doesn’t matter how much you have. What matters is whether it’s enough.
How do you define enough?
The happiest people in the world are the ones who are satisfied with what they have. Can it really be that simple, and if so, what is the magic technique that allows the happiest people to consistently be that way? I’ve developed a strategy that can be utilized to help you pursue personal contentment. It will also help you figure out where your “enough” level currently is and where it could possibly be.
Since having enough is key to your happiness in life, it’s something you should think deeply about and then develop a way to master the use of this thought process of contentment.
Contentment is a state of happiness or satisfaction with your life, circumstances, or current situation. It is feeling at ease with yourself and your surroundings, with a sense of acceptance and gratitude for what you have rather than constantly yearning for more. Contentment is often associated with inner peace, fulfillment, and a lack of stress or anxiety. WOW! Jackpot!
The thought that should be going through your mind right now is, “Where do I sign up for this?” Some follow-up questions might be “Why didn’t someone tell me about this before?” and “Why isn’t this a primary topic that’s covered at Life University?” along with “Why does it appear that the percentage of content people in today’s society is so doggone low?”. Let’s dive into this a little deeper and take a look from the backside.
I might suggest that the people who struggle the most are the ones who focus on what they don’t currently have yet convince themselves they want and must have. Seems silly that even upon the acquisition of something they’ve wanted, the satisfaction value (contentment) immediately drops off a cliff as their mind quickly turns to what else they don’t have but desire.
When did this negative seed get planted, and what kind of thought processes (fertilizer) caused it to grow and take control over an individual’s happiness, satisfaction, and contentment? It appears that the foundation may have been built upon a combination of envy, greed, grudges, jealousy, vindictiveness, resentment, revenge, retaliation, and even a feeling of having been wronged.
It’s impossible to live life well with a foundation built upon all those negative emotions.
I haven’t been immune to allowing those negative emotions to toy with my mind. I still battle them every day.
Do I win every battle? Honestly, no, but I’ll never give up trying. And I’ve improved. Over the years, I’ve gained significant control over allowing them into my mind, recognizing them when they do sneak in, and quickly showing them the exit before they can gain any traction. There’s a ton of evidence out there that I’m about as average as a person can be. That’s great news for you because if an average guy like me can increase the contentment I experience each day, you can too!
There are many ways you can develop personal contentment. Here are some suggestions based on my Life University experiences. You can utilize these as seeds that can grow over time:
Practice my favorite emotion, gratitude, by taking time each day to appreciate the good things in your life, no matter how small they may seem. Become an expert at finding the good in everything rather than being a professional fault-finder.
Always focus on the present moment rather than dwelling on the past or worrying about the future; focus on the here and now. A great resource for this is a book by Spencer Johnson entitled ‘The Precious Present’, which will help you understand how to utilize every present moment to find contentment.
Develop meaningful, strong, and supportive relationships. Yes, this requires time, effort, and thoughtful consideration…ALL of which result in rewards providing contentment. Family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, community members, and others can all contribute value through compassionate and caring relationships.
Pursue SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely). The fact is, working towards goals that are important to you can give you a sense of purpose and satisfaction and help you grow in knowledge. There’s a lot of contentment just across the finish line of reaching a well-thought-out goal.
Make life fun and engage in activities that bring you joy and fulfillment. Whether it's a hobby, a creative pursuit, meditation, or physical activity, create time for the things that bring you consistent joy.
To be clear, an individual experiencing contentment at its highest level is an active person who’s present on the playing field of life (Numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 above). The only time they’re up in the stands is when they’re cheering for others they care about down on the field (Numbers 2, 3, and 5 above). They’re so consumed with experiencing contentment each day that they don’t have time for envy, greed, grudges, jealousy, vindictiveness, resentment, revenge, retaliation, nor a feeling of having been wronged. Those negative emotions get booted out the exit door, making even more room for the joy and happiness that contentment brings.
Remember that cultivating personal contentment is a process that takes time and effort, so be patient and kind with yourself as you work towards this extremely SMART goal and way of life.
You’ll get there. I know this because I Believe In You! Now GiddyUp!
In addition to being a nationally syndicated columnist, Paul White is an author, motivational and inspirational speaker, entrepreneur, podcaster, and life coach located in Midland, Michigan. He offers self-help and culture development to start your journey towards consistent growth and joy. If you’re interested in getting in touch with Paul, please submit an inquiry via our Contact Page.