"He who is not content with that..." - Socrates on Contentment

“He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have.”

- Socrates

It's easy to set goals and work towards them. But when we reach them, we often realize that it's not as fulfilling as we initially thought. Whether it's a new cell phone, new shoes or a new partner.

The anticipation, is often the greatest joy in these cases, because as soon as we have the new thing, it usually feels "normal" again after a few days.

Personally, I still remember when I got Lego for Christmas as a child. Already weeks before Christmas Eve, I had an enormous anticipation. As soon as I got the Lego set as a gift, most of the joy was gone. Sure, you played with it for a few days, but quickly you wanted another, or a new, toy.

Often we are not as satisfied with our current life situation as we would like to be. Instead of intensively researching the reasons for this dissatisfaction, we project the supposed solution onto some external object. However, this does not treat the causes, but only the symptoms of dissatisfaction.

If you value what you have, are careful with your possessions, and practice modesty, you are well on your way to being satisfied with what you have.

If we are satisfied with what we have, it is also much easier for us to appreciate things that we are yet to get.

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