Maybe it’s just because I’m getting older, but I find myself becoming more content with my life. It’s not that anything has changed greatly in recent years. I haven’t won millions of dollars, bought a new house or car, or taken a fancy vacation. In fact, very little that’s happened in the last few years has revolved around money. ...
What a great article!! Glad to hear you came through your medical challenge and are better for it. Definitely planning on sharing this with my husband, because he has been stressing over ‘things’ lately.
I think that learning to be content is one of the most critical steps that most people need to learn to get their finances in order. The truth is is that we really don’t need all that much. People always think that it’s things that are going to make them happy, when in reality it isn’t the things, but what you have around you. When you realize that always wanting more isn’t going to make you happy, it’s a lot easier to find the happiness without spending a lot of money.
The problem with this is that it goes against the “American Dream” of bigger and more stuff than the generation before you. When you become content, you no longer need to spend money on stuff, which goes against what advertising is telling you.
Not being content is a sure sign that you have some type of “Keeping up with the Joneses syndrome. When you look at what others have instead of what you have, you’re never going to be satisfied.
Can I just comment that that is an awesome photo in this article! when I reached the point that I feel that way, I know I will have succeeded
Contentment also has a downside as it means that you don’t strive is hard to make yourself better. I’m not sure that I ever want to be content.
Being content isn’t the same as settling for second best. I love to sew. I feel content when I do, but as I learn new techniques I feel even more content that I have the time to learn and try out new things and then share them others in my blog. When I was physically able I would feel a great deal of contentment when baking bread, rolls, coffee cakes, cookes, etc. from scratch. Part of the contentment was doing something I throughly enjoyed, but I always kept trying to make what I did better. Working towards being better isn’t the opposite of contentment. It is just a greater feeling of satisfaction with life when you have achieve something special.