THE VALUE OF CONTENTMENT

PRACTICING CONTENTMENT

Last week we talked all about gratitude. So, I thought it only made sense to continue the conversation this week by talking about contentment. Contentment goes hand in hand with gratitude. The more grateful we are for the things in our lives, the more likely we will be content with them. When you are grateful for what you have you will naturally feel much more content. Contentment impacts our mental health and our financial health. People that are unhappy with their current situation often make poor financial decisions trying to upgrade their lifestyles before they can actually afford to do so. Instead of being grateful and content with what they have, they are constantly looking for the next best thing. Being content allows us to take time to put thought into lifestyle upgrades without just jumping into them.

CONTENT DOES NOT MEAN COMPLACENT

The idea of being content does not mean that we need to be complacent. Being content means that we are at peace with our current situation. It does not mean that we cannot have dreams of improving ourselves. It does not mean that we cannot dream of a nicer car or a renovated kitchen. But what it does mean is that until it is the right time to have those things (if ever) we are happy with our life as it is. It would be a shame to never enjoy where you are because you are so focused on where you want to get. There is so much to enjoy along the way.

YOU CAN ONLY ONE UP SO MANY TIMES

One of the great things about contentment is that there is only so much bigger and better. If we are always trying to upgrade things that were once fun and special become the norm. Then we have to look for something new to become special to us. Everyone loves to use lattes as examples, so here is one. If you get a latte to celebrate each Friday it feels like a special treat. However, if you decide to start getting a latte every day of the week, the one on Friday will not be special anymore. If you want something special for Friday, you will need to add something new or additional. So, you have turned your special Friday latte into nothing special anymore. You have to one-up yourself.

By being content with your current practice of the Friday latte, you will not find yourself looking for something new to celebrate the day. If you want to go out for a latte every day, that is totally your choice! The point is just to give an example of when we do not have contentment we can end up in a situation where we feel the need to keep upgrading. At some point, there will be limited upgrading that can be done, unless you are very rich! And even if you were very rich, would you really want to live always searching for something bigger and better instead of being happy with what you have?

COMPARISON

Just because someone has something you see as being better than what you have just remember you are not necessarily seeing the whole picture. And even if you are seeing the whole picture, there will always be someone with bigger and better things than you if you are on the lookout for them. Discontentment is caused by the feeling that something is lacking in your life. Looking at what others have and wishing you had the same or had better than what you currently have can make you feel discontent.

There is nothing wrong with looking at what others have or wanting some of those things. But, when it leads us to a point where we are unhappy with our current situation we might need to create a better balance between being happy with what we have and having aspirations for the future. By being mindful of how we react to the things we see we can be happy for others for those things and maybe want to have those things at some point in life without feeling discontent with our current situation.

ENTITLEMENT

Especially if we are going through a very difficult or stressful time in our lives, we can start to develop an entitled mindset. We might start to feel entitled to have more because of what we are currently going through. It can be easy to feel like we deserve to upgrade our lives or treat ourselves in excess to make up for a hard time we are going through. This can make us feel discontent with our current situation because we don’t see it as being enough. We can start to think that we deserve more than what we currently have because we are going through a rough time. During these times it can be even more important to take the time to really think about what you already have and appreciate how those things serve you.

SOME TIPS TO BE MORE CONTENT WITH WHAT YOU HAVE

Take time to think of all the basic things you have to be grateful for, food, shelter, transportation. If you think about it our basic needs are pretty minimal. When we consider how much more we have above and beyond covering our basic needs it can give us a different perspective on things. Simplify. Sometimes, when we have too much it can be hard to appreciate what we have. If you scale back a little and really only keep the things that you love, it can really help to increase your feelings of contentment.

Take time to practice gratitude, the more thankful you are for what you have, the less you will feel the need to replace or upgrade what you already have. Again contentment does not mean that we need to be complacent. There is room for growth and improvement in our lives while appreciating where we are at today. No one wants to spend their lives living in the future hoping for someday when they might have a different situation. So, remember to enjoy where you are at today while you make plans for what you want later on.

Thanks so much for checking in! If you would like to hear the podcast version of this topic check out Lola’s Frugal Life Podcast! Also, be sure to check out my other blog posts on this site!

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