One simple question: are you contented? Or rather, how contented are you? You might say you’re contented with what you have right now, or are you? Are you willing to stay in the same state for the rest of your life? If you’re not willing, read on.

Okay, you might have a great family, an excelling career, a wonderful spouse, and yet you are not contented. You want to achieve more in your life. You want to earn more money than you have. You want to be more respected. After all, who doesn’t right?

I was very surprised when a few of my buddies were telling me that they were contented with their life because I always thought that most people were not. It’s hard these days to find people who believe that their life is worth living. Most people would crave for more in their life, even though most of the time they don’t do much about it. They keep yearning for better life, yet no action is taken.

So, what can you do to be contented with your life and still have the motivation to keep going in life? Here are some suggestions that would work:

1)      Be grateful for what you have now, even though you know you would have much more later on. You know, we can always do better in our life no matter what stage we are at. It doesn’t mean you should stop working towards what you really want in your life. Just be thankful that you’re doing all you can towards your dream. It’s the best emotion on earth.

2)      List down what you have now. Compared the list to most of the population in our world, you are way better off! I know it because you’re reading this blog, when the other half of the world is starving every day. According to World Food Programme, about 1 billion people in the world today do not have enough to eat. That’s more than the populations of USA, Canada and the EU combined! Also, 25,000 people die every day from hunger and related causes. So, if you’re alive and full, you’re already ahead of 1 billion people in the world (plus you have a computer with internet access). Stop focusing negatively on what you don’t yet have!

3)      Enjoy what you’re doing. Work hard on things that you love, and not on things that you hate! It’s true that sometimes you would need to do things that you don’t like in order to get ahead. But if you find yourself doing that every single day and it makes your life miserable, pause and reflect: do you really want this kind of life? It’s most likely time to change something. Steve Jobs said it well:

“When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.”

4)      Tell your loved ones how much you love them. This seems like it’d make them contented, not you. But really, what could be happier than making your loved ones happy? And when you’re happy, you’ll more likely to appreciate the people and things around you. Remember, you might not have the same chance tomorrow. Live your life with no regrets because life is short!

Hope you’ll share your stories and suggestions on how to be contented with your life in the comment section!

(Picture created by ŭn-sŭng from Flickr. Thanks!)

Popularity: 1% [?]