There are two sides to the desire to get more. We are either content with what we already have and enjoy creating new things, or we are miserable and feel that we can find happiness in something outside of ourselves.
We are told that through hard work and incessant effort we can have or be anything we want. If we aren’t getting the results, we need to do more, to fight and struggle to get it.
Don’t stop until you get enough. Michael Jackson made that sentiment come alive in a catchy song.
But what is enough?
First you decide what you think it is that you want, the thing that will make you happy forever and ever. It might be finding your soulmate, getting fit, having a certain job or starting your own business. It could be any number of things, but the bottom line is that you have decided you need this in your life to be complete.
You believe that you aren’t already enough. Something needs to come into your life so you can be whole, and then you will be happy.
Since we are unable to see the big picture and to understand how all of life flows together, we segment off our part in the world and demand it to be the way we have decided it should be. We begin to struggle to force things to bend to our will, but the struggle takes its toll.
You can never fight enough to get what isn’t meant for you.
The other side to this is the art of allowing.
If you can get to the point of accepting the circumstances around you and your own attributes and limitations, then life becomes a little easier.
Struggling to be rich and famous as a singer, model, or athlete if you aren’t meant to be will cause nothing but unhappiness.
In other words, fighting for a dream that isn’t meant for you can lead to a life of unfulfilled wishes and broken dreams.
Meanwhile, there are many things that only you can do, skills unique to you that when discovered bring you joy and a feeling of contentment.
It boils down to realizing that it doesn’t matter what you do, it is the feeling and level of contentment that you derive from the doing.
If you need everything to be a certain way in your life, with total control over the people around you and the job you do, then life will be one long struggle. We have no control over anything other than ourselves and the level of joy we allow ourselves to feel.
Attempting to force yourself to be someone who you are not is going to be a battle that you will never win. It will be a miserable way to live.
You might not be happy with the body you are in so you punish it to look a different way. Instead of supporting it in all of the amazing things it does, you call it names and feel unloving towards it.
That is both cruel and unproductive. Your body is a miracle and should be treated as such every day. Whatever it looks like is how it was meant to be, and it is your job to keep it healthy.
You may think you need to be rich, more attractive, have better friends and a bigger house before you can be happy. You give away your power to achieve contentment to externals, and in doing so you give away the ability to lead a joyful life.
Working hard and punishing yourself to be someone you aren’t meant to be is a waste of a precious life.
We are all good at different things. Finding out what brings you happiness and joy is the first step, and then you can spend your days doing something you truly love.
Within you lies a wisdom greater than anything that is outside of you. Trust in this and know that when you are dwelling in feelings of peace and contentment, no matter what things look like on the outside, you are on the only path there is to true success.