Inspired post by The Science of Happiness
Why do so many of us go on everyday complaining, wishing, dreaming of how our life would be if we had:
- more free time
- more money
- our own place
- a profitable business
- a significant other
- loving friends
- a great job
I do this all the time, its like I don’t appreciate where I am and what I have now. Instead I am so focused on the next step and forget what is right in front of me. Don’t get me wrong, its great that I am not passive and want to get ahead but rushing ahead and throwing everything to the side does not work that well.
I remember around the time when I started to pay off my debt I had this phase where I was really looking over my situation and for a while started to appreciate it. What I did actually was I had a journal and I wrote in it almost everyday for about a few weeks. I wrote in what I was thankful for and this was actually a nice reflection of what I achieved for the day.
In fact, I was reading Art of Manliness and the 30 days to becoming a better man, and Day 8 talked about having a journal just to document what you did that day, express thoughts, feelings or anything. Personally, I think I should dedicate like 30 minutes each day to sit down and write because I have learned that I express myself the best with writing.
Getting back to the point
Are we just ungrateful and greedy beings?
Why do we now choose to enrich what we have?
What happens when you have more money or that job, what happens next?
Can you ever have too much? Where do you draw the line?
Extra reading
Why am I financially sabotaging myself
Everything wants your attention
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Andrew
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Tom, I don’t think we are bad people. I think we are just misguided. We are conditioned from an early age to think that the items you listed above will make us happy when in fact they do not. I think we have to realize that the hole in our lives cannot be filled with material possessions, better relationships, a bigger house or even better looks. The good news is that there are things, very simple things in fact, that we can do to create lasting happiness. I am continuing my series on this and I hope you’ll join me.
Thanks for linking to my article! I’m glad you found in inspiring!
Jeff@MySuperChargedLife’s last blog post..The Science of Happiness: How To Get The Most Out Of Life
“How much money is enough?” “Just a little bit more.” (J.D. Rockefeller, I think)
Life would be terribly boring if you didn’t have something to look forward to. I don’t find anything wrong with wanting more, even when you have plenty. It’s not greedy. Being ungrateful is a separate issue. It’s possible to be grateful for what you have while still trying to find more. Like Jeff said, it’s not going to make us happy, but the search for it might.
Kris’s last blog post..Winning the Lottery, etc.
One of the greatest lessons anyone can learn is to truly appreciate the present moment as it is. If you can do that, you can not only live cheaply, you can be happy whatever comes your way.
Jeff, thanks for your comment.
You bring up a great point, about being misguided, and conditioned to think a certain way. This actually has brought on a new topic idea for me, thanks.
Now that I think about it, it is quite shocking to see just how much influence there is out there. I mean the reason I struggled financially for so many years was the belief that I would strike it rich with this product or this idea or whatever.
Kris, thanks for your comment.
Great quote, thanks for that.
Well of course wanting more is great to strive for but the issue comes when you constantly focus on that.
It takes away a lot of your time and focus and you are shooting for the unknown with the risk of ending up with nothing.
Meg, thanks for your comment.
You are absolutely I recently started to get outdoors more, spending time with friends and it was so fulfilling, I don’t think spending money on clothing or something else would have substituted that.
Tom,
You have hit on an important point here, and I in my view, the concept of ‘contentment’ is absolutely crucial if we are to live happy, satisfying and worthwhile lives.
Ambition is great, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with the active pursuit of future dreams and ambitions. But ambition is only healthy if it is grounded in a statement of contentment and happiness with where we are in life now.
I sure don’t want to reach old age and think “Lord, I forgot to be happy!”
Andrew,
Great point, I guess then its about setting a foundation first and then with time shooting for more.