Are you unhappy and just keep thinking if I could earn a bit more money everything would be fine? Tired of hearing the saying "money can't buy happiness"? I wish I could tell you that I am going to tell you that money can buy happiness, everyone else is wrong, but I can't. What I can tell you is that if you find contentment with what you have now when more money shows up it does help increase happiness. But first you must find the contentment.
When you are content money is cool, but not the end all be all. You spend differently, you invest differently. It is not about impressing others or gathering things. Don't get me wrong, money and things are cool, but when you are content you operate from a different place. You don't need to impress others or have more because you are happy with what you have. So your decisions on what to do with money come from a different place. According to Tom Stanley author of Stop Acting Rich a better indicator of happiness comes not from more income but on living on less than you make. I would guess that much of that has to do with those that live on less than they make are more content with life and thus spend money differently.
So what is contentment?
I consider contentment to be:
· Loving who you are today
· Loving what you have today
· Loving what you do today
· Accepting your past as a filled with experiences that are of benefit to you today
Of course we should always strive for being a better person, evolving in our careers, and reaching for bigger dreams but if you cannot say you are happy with yourself now, you can very easily fall into the belief that the grass is always greener on the other side. This creates a vicious circle of trying to achieve what you think will make things better, getting it and then discovering you are still not happy, thus setting your sites on something else and struggling all over again.
So how do you get contentment?
This is a journey, it usually does not happen overnight. You can move down that road to contentment by hiring coaches, counselors and other teachers and by self study, plus tapping into the spiritual and physical components of contentment. That is a big lot to choose from. So here are three specific steps to get you down that road:
1. Start a gratitude journal - every night before bed write down what you were grateful for that day. It can be as small as a eating a fantastic tasting strawberry. Get as many things written down as possible. You will find that after about a week or two your attitude will begin to be more positive about today and yesterday!
2. Select an area you struggle with and get help. If you struggle to enjoy your daily life because you have no energy, address the fact you need more energy by starting a workout program or eating healthier. Reach out to friends, family or paid help to get you on the right track; it is hard to change things alone. Accountability and a different prospective will take you further than you ever thought. The key to this step is the help part, get help today!
3. Give yourself time and love. Besides for my years of living a life based on personal growth it took me a full five years of actively pursuing contentment to actually find it. There were many times I wanted to give up, but I continually came back to the point that I loved myself and deserved contentment. You do too, so allow for time and love in your journey.
Is this journey easy? Not always but I promise it is always worth the journey. Striving for true contentment and everything else get easier - including money.
Andrea Travillian
Making Money Fun and Easy Allowing You to Fulfill Your Dreams
Visit my website at the above link for more ideas on how to improve your money health and live your dream life!
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