You need a bigger house. You deserve a faster car. You have to have a larger salary.
For so many of us, we live in a world of needing, deserving, and having to haves.
What is this world? It’s the world of discontent.
Are you content? That’s a big question to ask.
For me, most of the days, I think I am. Then there are days when I go and think I want a bigger house, nicer car, or larger salary.
I get discontent.
When I get discontent, I find myself in a bad place. I look at the world as if the world is unfair.
Everyone has a bigger house. That Maserati down the street looks really appealing. Or I wish I lived closer to Lake Michigan (I live 3 miles from there, come on now!).
These feelings of discontent leave me wanting more.
You have these moments too. There are times when you look at your neighbor, covet what he has, and feel bad about the blessings we hold in our hands.
We’ve got to stop looking everywhere else for our contentment. Our contentment is not going to come from looking at everyone else. We will only be content when we realize what we have is more than enough.
How To Be More Content
Look at everything you have:
At first look, you may not think you have a lot. If you live in America, you have more than so many people.
I bet you have a place to live. You have friends. You have a job. You may have money in the bank.
We have things. Learn to be content with what you have.
Stop buying so much:
We’re so discontent because we think we need more, more, more, more. I want to challenge you to stop buying so much.
Go on a month-long spending freeze of non-essentials. You’ll be surprised at how much you’ve been able to spend on things you don’t really care about.
You’ll discover you’ve been eating out and spending $100s of dollars a month on restaurant food. Or you’ll see your money was going to things you were never using.
There is freedom in not buying things.
Help others:
One of the reasons we think we need more is because we surround ourselves with people who have more than us. The lifestyles of these people tell us we’re not good enough or that we need more.
Go, help someone less fortunate. You will soon discover you have so much more than you realized.
Be Content
The more you help others, curb your spending, and focus on what you have, the easier it will be to be content. You will soon realize you have more than you realized.
Be content today.
