During the month of October, I’m following along with Edie & Ruth on their 31 Days of Less & More journey. I’d love for you to join in by reading the posts and completing the projects, or just sit back and read along each day.
Less Discontentment
When you look around you, there is always someone who seems to have more than you do. Or a better life than you have. Or quicker success than you’ve had. Or can lose weight more easily and keep it off. Or a better marriage. Or more incredible talents. Or more money. And on and on it goes.
Life is full of things that don’t seem fair. And if you choose to dwell on those things, you can quickly become discouraged, discontent, and downright frustrated.
But life is also full of beautiful things — if you look for them. Your perspective and attitude on life won’t usually change your circumstances, but it can sure change the way you feel.
You don’t need more of anything in order to be more content. Contentment is a choice. It’s something you can wake up every day and decide to be — whether you’re a prince or a pauper, you can choose contentment.
Graphic is a free download from Pretty Providence
More Gratitude
I’ve said it many times before, but it bears repeating: There is ALWAYS something to be grateful for. No matter your circumstances, no matter your situation, if you start looking for things to appreciate, you’ll begin to find them all around you.
And that’s why I love the exercise of writing in a gratitude journal every day. Because it forces you to pay attention to the things you might take for granted otherwise. Not only that, but it inspires you to make thanksgiving a part of your each and every day.
Take time today to say “thank you” — for the little things and the big things. Blessings are all around you if you will only take time to notice!
Want to develop more contentment in your life? Read my post with 16 Ways to Become More Content.
For more on this topic, check out Ruth’s post on Less Discontentment and Edie’s post on More Gratitude. I promise you’ll be inspired and blessed!
Michele says
I love that saying. It is so true!
Tammy says
I believe contentment is one of the most challenging things to achieve, because we live in a world where enough never seems to be enough! As an adult I know that I can fall into the trap of being discontent so I can imagine how easy it is for my children to struggle with this. It’s quite often a topic of conversation in our home. I want to be a person who is content regardless of my circumstances and I’d like that for my children as well. I love the idea of a gratitude journal! Thank you for the wonderful idea!!
Rebecca @ Stapler Confessions says
A lovely reminder to keep the important things in perspective!
Ben @ The Wealth Gospel says
Great post! You get a lot more joy in life by following these two things than what any amount of money could buy.
cher says
What a great quote and amen for gratitude!
Brandi @ Savvy Student Shopper says
Lovely post 🙂
Pat says
I have been enjoying each posting this month on Less and More Journey. I stop and re-examine my attitude and situation and ALWAYS come away feeling happier and more energizer to fully live. Thank You so much!
Crystal says
I’m so grateful it’s been a blessing to you! I’m really being challenging and inspired as I write it.
Anonymous says
This post is such a blessing! I for one am so amazed that GOD would allow me to wake up another day. That makes me so grateful especially when I have failed HIM so miserably. God is so good!
Ryan@SimpleMoolah says
I love this!
We all fall into this trap. Some more than others. But at some point, we all look at what others have and wonder “how come I don’t have that?” We have to get ourselves into the habit of acknowledging when we are taking ourselves to this place of discontentment, and then be able to quickly pull oursevles back to reality and focus on what we DO have and all the things that we are blessed to have in our life.
I start every morning off by first thinking about all the little things that I have access to (like clean running water from a tap, heat in my house, food in my fridge…) and all the blessings I may take for granted(like the sense of smell, touch, see, hear, feel) and I give God all the thanks for blessing me with all these things.
Many people in this world would fight to eat the food we throw away, or drink the water we waste. We are very very fortunate and I think it’s important to never lose sight of this.
Victoria says
So true. I find when I get in a pity party mood if I can just take a few minutes to really concentrate on what I have been blessed with I can pull myself out of that bad mood and move on with my day.