Health is the greatest gift; Contentment is the greatest wealth

– Siddhartha Gautama

Feeling a little bit of discontentment is an extremely effective motivation to move toward a specific goal. Folks with financial “wealth” will often credit their drive to growing up in poverty. Many people who lose weight will credit their success to hitting “rock bottom” (ie: a medical diagnosis, not liking their appearance… etc.). Recovery from addiction begins when “life becomes unmanageable”.  A sense of loneliness can be a catalyst for going out and making friends. And the list goes on and on.

Get “x”, and life will become “better”.

But here’s the paradox: why do individuals who have achieved financial stability still strive for more wealth? Why do some who have successfully lost weight obsess over their food choices? Why do those in recovery live in constant fear of a relapse? And why do some who have overcome loneliness develop unhealthy attachments?

Contentment is an emotion that arises when a person holistically perceives that life is full and enough. It is a sense of completeness.  Contentment is not happiness. Happiness is a positive emotion in response to external stimuli. Contentment on the other hand is an accurate appraisal of the situation and “agency of self” (the belief that you have control of your behaviors). (source)

Happiness is an emotion that is BIG and EXCITING. While contentment is a subtle hum.

Here is the point. If you can’t find moments of happiness in your current circumstances, you will never be truly content when you get to where you think you want to go.

Discontentment, fear, anxiety, sadness, anger. These are all necessary emotions to protect us from actual danger.  However, if sustained will destroy your health and potentially your “wealth”.

“Contentment” isn’t fun or exciting. It isn’t the “high” so many of us in developed countries spend our days seeking.

Here is the difficult truth.  If life isn’t “enough” now, it will never be “enough”. Or once it is “enough,” the “hum” of contentment will be overshadowed by the “hum” of fear of reverting back to the former “life of discontentment” (poor, “disabled,” overweight, alone….etc.)

Are you striving for more out of fear and discontentment? Or out of the excitement of discovering your potential? If the former, more will never be enough. Your physical abilities, wealth, health, and/or relationships may improve, but “more” may never be “good enough.” The aftertaste of the “unpleasant” past will linger.

On the other hand, if you can spend time getting to a place where the “hum” of contentment is real in your “low position”, you are free. Free to explore new experiences and entertain new possibilities, knowing that, at best, you will grow. At worst you will “fail” to a version of you that you loved and accepted.

Is it easy to “love” financial insecurity, food insecurity, job insecurity, chronic disease, loneliness, addiction, and/or “disability”? Absolutely not. And here is the rub as I see it:

First, we can dislike the circumstances and/or the behaviors that led to the circumstances, without disliking the person we were on our way to becoming better.

Second, 99% of what we believe isn’t actually true.

The truth is you are here, you are loved, and you were created to make a positive impact on this world. Finding joy and moments of happiness doesn’t take money, a fancy car,  and/or “perfect health”. Making a positive impact on the world, doesn’t require the ability to walk, talk, or even move. In fact, my life has been impacted more by people who CAN’T do any of the above, than by those who can. There is no doubt I am a better human as a result of years of witnessing another’s response to a devastating circumstance. And I am sure I am not the only one that was impacted by these individuals. But once again I digress…..

Here is the point. I don’t disagree with what I wrote a few weeks back regarding the benefits of “discomfort” (ie: discontentment). I think it is a HUGE lever that some people with certain personalities can effectively pull to keep them moving forward. On the other hand, truly loving and accepting a “low” position may be of equal value in pursuit of discovering your full potential.