Contentment as a key to happiness

Happiness is a simple yet intriguing concept.

Part of what makes happiness intriguing is that people experience happiness differently. What makes one person happy may not necessarily have the same effect on another person.

You, like I have, may have come across some seemingly wealthy and successful people who are not happy, making you wonder why. You may even have imagined how much happiness you will derive from achieving a particular thing, only for that thing to happen and the happiness you experienced was at best short-lived or at worst never even materialised.

While there may not be one thing to make everyone equally happy, perhaps there may be something that those who seem to be happy for majority of the time have in common?

Could that ‘something’ be contentment?

I view contentment as being able to be happy with my present situation; where I am and what I have achieved so far. Contentment for me is not an excuse to settle for mediocrity. It does not mean a lack of ambition or desire, giving up or no longer striving to be better. It is not an act of surrender or hopelessness.

Contentment is about appreciating the here and now. It is about counting my blessings, no matter how small they may seem and looking ahead with optimism that things can and do get better. It is choosing to be happy, regardless!

Learning to be content with who we are, where we are or what we have achieved can hold a lot of positives. A sense of contentment does not limit our expectations, rather, it allows us to appreciate how far we have come while we pursue our ambitions and look forward to the next stage of our lives.

Consider contentment as a key to happiness!