Being content is one of the most important lessons to be learned in living a simple life.
When you are truly content with the people that surround you, the things that you have, and the life that you live, you become happier and more carefree.
I was thinking about the idea of contentment a few days ago, when someone wise told me this:
“Contentment is not having what you want, but wanting what you have.”
This statement is probably one of the best views on contentment that I’ve ever heard. A lot of times I try and find contentment in a different way. I think a lot of us do.
I used to try and create contentment by having a few specific things that I wanted. I told myself that with those few things and a little bit of discipline and perspective, I would be content.
Isn’t that the lie?
We are never content if we try and go about things that way. There’s always something more to want and sometime more to be had. There’s always the next best thing, the need to change, the need to upgrade.
Instead, I started working on “wanting what I have.” Placing my value in the things that were already part of my life.
I started investing in the relationships around me. In the past, I spent time trying to meet new people, find new friends, get into new circles. Now I realize that there are people right beside me that love me, support me, and inspire me. They have become my closest friends.
I settled into the city I now call home. I used to have the worst possible case of wanderlust. I always wanted to be anywhere but here. Wherever “here” was at the time, I tried to be somewhere else. Travel is great. I love travel, and I think there’s a lot of value in travel, but when it becomes a search for contentment, it looses a lot of it’s beauty. Now I choose to deeply appreciate the city I’m in. Austin is a beautiful place. It’s green, full of wonderful people, and I truly call it home.
I love the few things I have. When I first simplified my life, I did so assuming that it would make me more settled. I think I became lighter in a way, but settled? No. I thought that by getting rid of 90% of my stuff, I’d simply learn to be content with what I had. But there was no initial value shift. I still don’t have much, but I place enormous value in the things that I do have. I love my Kindle to death. I read on it every day. My computer is what helps me get my work done and enables me to live my flexible lifestyle. I’m so very thankful to have it. My guitar “setup” doesn’t change much anymore, but I love it that way. I’ve become familiar with every fret on that guitar and every cable in my setup. I feel comfortable and at home. I invest in the few things that I do have and then put value and use into them every day.
For me, a simple shift in view and approach was all I needed to truly start discovering contentment.
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For deeper thoughts, check out The Letter.
