Goals in life are essential and should be sensibly thought out because attaining one’s goals gives life purpose. And just what should our personal goals be? Frequently they involve several themes including family, occupation, and affluence. But I would suggest that achieving contentment with your life should be right at the uppermost. Contentment means to be satisfied or even pleased with what you yourself have done, your status in the world, and your personal surroundings including things but most important – PEOPLE.
Contentment is vital to relaxing one’s lifestyle and it brings about pleasurable states. It is crucial to periodically rethink your surroundings and overall lifestyle, especially in these troubling COVID times. And realize that most in the USA have an abundance of necessities to live a good life and be comfortable.
If one has contentment, it does not mean giving up ambitions. Instead, it means focusing on the present, which is how you live, and you still have dreams for the future but realizing dreams are imaginings. It does not mean being troubled your present is not adequate. Some personalities constantly need to have more.
Decide if you have enough. Realize that almost all of us have more than enough. We all should be asking what is the ideal life for us. Having enough to eat, comfortable surroundings, people you care about and who care about you, and having health sufficient to live a meaningful life – your present is sufficient. And you should recognize the sufficiency in your present-day. Accepting that your life is sufficient will allow you to receive contentment.
Don’t predetermine when your contentment will happen, such as basing your happiness on achieving specific goals and delaying it until the particular events happen. A good bit of our contentment becomes misplaced in our childhood learning experiences. When positive happenings occurred, our parents or teachers would tell us to become pleased. Those focused us on external dealings. This behavioral arrangement limits the internal self from sustaining a pattern of contentment with our lives that makes our “self” a happier, mostly satisfied person. In other words, don’t limit your satisfaction and internal rewards to future events which may not come about soon. If you need to restrict some considerations limit negative thoughts.
Contentment tells your inner emotional determining self, “you may and should be HAPPY because your present-day situation is superb.” Also, avoid all ‘what if’ considerations. Some of the saddest people I have ever met believed that life should be fair on their terms. I have been good, and I don’t know why this could have happened is a commonplace renouncement. Morality confers rewards and punishments but only in an offhand manner. Being a wonderful, giving person is good but doesn’t protect good drivers or good people from bad drivers.
