Why It’s So Hard To Be Content in Life and What You Can Do About It — 10 things to consider
Want to know how to be content?
social media allows you to get your fix of instant gratification and gaze longingly at your screen into the picture-perfect lives of others.
As a result, it has become ever more difficult to know how to be content with what you have.
You could be struggling to know how to be content at home, how to be content at work, how to be content on your own, or how to be content being single while everyone around you seems loved up.
Not to mention with mental health issues drastically on the rise due to the Covid-19 global pandemic a lot of people are struggling to be happy, stay positive, and content in general.
For some the path to being content is more important now than ever.
Whatever the reason you are struggling here’s 10 things to consider to help you be content in life.
1. Have purpose
How to be content with what you have or in general revolves around you having purpose in your life.
You need a reason to wake up in the morning.
Know what your intentions are for the day, what things you need to complete and accomplish.
I’m not just talking about menial tasks such as doing the laundry or dishes.
I’m talking about your daily purpose.
This could include being the best parent you can be or performing your best at work.
It could be things you have to do to accomplish your goals and dreams.
You need to have daily objectives and goals and dreams to give you drive, passion, focus and give your life clarity and meaning.
The power of purpose
Dr Majid Fotuhi, a Harvard and John Hopkins trained neurologist and founder of NeuroGrow, a brain fitness health centre, reported on one of his Alzheimer’s patients.
“73-year-old woman who was brought to us for evaluation of Alzheimer’s disease. Her workup revealed that along with sleep apnea, depression, and taking several sedative pain medications, she had lost her sense of purpose in life. Her retirement had taken away the sense of joy she had when she was helping people as a nurse. We treated her medical conditions and started her in our Brain Fitness Program. We often reminded her that if she worked hard during her training sessions, she could perhaps return to doing what she loved. Knowing that she could reengage in the purpose in her life gave her motivation to excel in the program. After three months, she was able to obtain a part-time job at a local medical centre”.
The power of purpose may just be the hidden and overlooked factor when it comes to your mental health.
We all probably have vague ideas about what our purpose is in life.
However, how many of us can clearly state what they are if asked, ‘what is your purpose in life?’
You want to how to be content?
Have clear goals.
Know what your dreams are.
Write down your top 3 goals and what your overall dream is.
Stick them on your bedroom wall so you can always refer to them.
It’ll help in not letting them get lost in the chaos of everything else going on in your life.
2. Keep learning
If you want to know how to be content with what you have, how to be content being single, or how to be content just being on your own a good way to start is by focusing on your personal development.
Your personal growth and development tend to take a back seat when it comes to everything else going on in your life.
You spent the whole day working, as well as tending to the kids, cooking and cleaning up or whatever other daily tasks you need to complete.
Now comes the end of the day and the only thing on your mind is slumping on the couch and loading up some Netflix and Chill.
The same thing happens come the weekend.
After such a busy week and your energy is drained the only thing on your mind is to relax and chill.
The last thing on your mind is your personal development.
Just remember if you want to live a life of content expanding your knowledge and skills will go a long way in helping you do that.
Your personal growth and development contribute to improving all areas of your life.
Your thinking and perspective changes for the better, you become wiser, the more you learn and develop the more your attitude and confidence improves, you build better relationships, and you increase your chances of becoming more resilient and mentally tougher.
You also improve your productivity, and overall greatly improve your mental health.
Keep your brain young and fresh
You’ve probably heard the expression ‘your brain is a muscle use it or lose it.’
Your brain naturally partakes in 2 important processes neurogenesis and neuroplasticity.
Neurogenesis is when new neurons (nerve cells that transmit electrical pulses) are created.
Neuroplasticity is where the brain changes and rewires depending on our experiences.
There are several ways you can enhance neurogenesis and neuroplasticity.
This includes healthy diet and exercise and also keeping it active.
You do this by having new experiences, continuously learning, and obtaining new knowledge and skills.
All this goes a long way on how to be content.
Just remember without engaging much in your personal development how you are currently is as good as you will be.
Why settle for that when you have the power to tap into your potential and be so much better?
Don’t waste your potential.
Find an hour in the day to learn a new skill, work on your hobbies, go out and engage with the world, or increase your knowledge in a new topic.
3. One problem at a time
How to be content involves a lot of problem-solving.
It can also mean not overthinking and constantly worry about the problems in your life.
When you feel life’s problems piling on top of you it’s best to tackle each problem one at a time.
You try and tackle as many as you can it’ll just lead to failure and panic that none of your problems have been resolved.
Reflect on what issues in your life are causing you the most distress and then work to resolve them.
After that work on the next issue, then the next.
It could be that you have gotten into the nasty and toxic habit of overthinking your problems.
Perhaps your problems are not so devastating as your mind is causing you to believe.
If that is the case then write down your problems.
When you do write down the worst-case scenario for each and the likelihood of it happening.
You do you may realise that your problems are not the ‘end of the world’ type disaster you feared they are.
4. Embrace the power of helping others
The secret to how to be content could be to help others.
Many researchers have concluded that the secret to happiness may be to look to help others rather than just yourself.
I’m sure you are all aware of it.
That warm glow you feel when you do a good deed that has benefitted others or those in need.
To those of you who constantly struggle with depression, finding happiness, being content, or struggling to remain positive in life consider taking time in your day or during the week to do something for someone else.
This could be volunteering, helping out a friend or a family member.
It could be something as small as spending a couple of hours of your day listening to someone talk who you know is lonely.
It doesn’t take much effort on your part to just sit and listen.
While you may think you haven’t done much it could mean a great deal to the other person and make their day.
Also, I know we all probably procrastinate to some extent in our life.
Most likely by going online.
Why not, instead, step away from your screen, engage with other people and see how you can help them instead.
5. Don’t chase happiness
While there is ample research on happiness and how to obtain it there is not much on how to be content.
There is a significant difference between being happy and being content.
You may think being able to live a life of content is a stepping stone to eventually being able to live a life of happiness.
This article was initially posted on my blog. To continue to read on click here.
