Why are we never satisfied with what we have?
A new love. Moving to a new place. A more modern cell phone. We are always looking for something different. Why are we never satisfied with what we have?
We struggle to get into college and then rush to get out. When we’re young, we want to turn 18 to be able to drive and buy drinks, but soon after, age no longer satisfies us. Many people buy a cell phone and are happy at first, but soon find themselves looking for a new model.
It’s the story of the neighbor’s grass: we want what we don’t have.
This can be a good thing. By wanting more and going further, we break records in sports, develop new technologies, and so on.
Perhaps we wouldn’t progress, both collectively and individually, if the normal and mundane things of everyday life kept us happy and satisfied all the time.
But in personal life, always wanting something we don’t have can be a trick of our brain to make sense of things. It’s creating a false goal, even if it won’t bring a real gain in the end, to make us feel like we have a path to follow. Or it can be a mental trick to postpone our responsibilities from now to later:
– “When I buy that car, then I’ll be able to take many trips”
– “When I double my salary, then I’ll be able to live more peacefully”
– “When I find love, then I’ll be happy”
The problem is thinking that the next step will bring absolute happiness and that the current situation is no good. It’s filling up with expectations about what comes next, since what we have now is worthless. The mistake is focusing only on the future and failing to enjoy the present. It’s looking only over the fence and forgetting to appreciate the green of our own grass.
Even the most obvious things can be appreciated. When I spent weeks with a sprained ankle, I missed being able to walk freely back and forth, to climb stairs without pain or difficulty. Just a tired sight is enough for us to realize how good it is to see everything clearly. Just the internet going down is enough to drive us crazy — having it always working isn’t it wonderful?
Happiness is not always in the next step, much less at the end of the road. It is in this exact moment, in the exact place where you are, in what you have right now.
We just need to remember to look for it.
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© 2024 Lost in My Soul
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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