I don’t know anyone who hasn’t felt unhappy with where they are or what they have at some point in life. If you want to be, do, or have something more or other than what you currently possess you’re not content. This isn’t always a bad thing and you may not be in some deep, dark depression about what you have or have not accomplished or amassed in life but you have an itch, a sensation, or gnawing. You’re experiencing some varying level of discontent.
I consider my self a driven, focused, high achieving person. I work hard to get what I’m after. Yeah… I’m awesome. I can also get caught up in wanting more and more and more. And maybe not the faster, more expensive car but the bigger ring or maybe the better lawn furniture from Restoration Hardware. Right?! I know you feel me on the condo in the mountains, we all need that. How can we live without the new iPhone?
Here’s the deal… it also transfers to “spiritual awakenings”. I want to grow and find “more” peace. I want to get all blissed out and become enlightened. This too can fall into the common dynamic of needing to be more of something indicating that I’m not enough of another and the chase is on.
So what would happen if instead of this whole game we focused on being happy with where we are? Where we actually felt blessed with exactly what we have. Consider believing that it was wonderful to own a car at all rather than feeling like life would be so much better if we had a newer car. Maybe you want more sex and you think to yourself if you could just have sex three times a week instead of one? I don’t know your version of discontent and a mindset of not enough, I just know that pretty much all of us suffer at one time or another from that way of thinking. I also know that the solution lies in where we focus our minds.
The work that’s possible is to shift and reframe what we think and stay more conscious with are real priorities. Do you want to be safe or do you want to impress your neighbors? Do you want to experience peace or do you want to feel overwhelming stress from financial obligations?
This can be done by sitting down and hanging out with yourself. Spend some time considering where your drive for “something else” is coming from then seek to come back to a healthy equilibrium with being with what you have.
Thanks for your time.