No matter how old you are or where you are in your career, there are sure to be things you wish were different. It is a known fact as humans we are never satisfied. We want more, look for more, and work for more. This drive for more and more leaves us feeling unsatisfied and empty in many cases without any hope for filling that hole. It doesn’t even have to be financial. It could be having a child. Graduating from college. Finding a husband or wife. If you are looking for “more”, you want to read on. Here are 4 ways to take your focus off “more” and find the happy in now.
1. Evaluate Your Want More
Why do you want this thing? Is it something that you truly need to be happy or do you think it will make you happy? I have a dear single friend that has been praying for a husband for years. She has been waiting for this husband, thinking that he was just around the corner so that she could start her life. Last year, she decided to quit waiting, bought a house, and started fostering kids. Fast forward one year and she is fostering a sweet 3-month-old that she is madly in love with (as am I). If she had let her desire for “more” outweigh her desire to just live, she may have missed out on this last year of loving on at least 8 children who needed someone, all because the “more” she thought she needed to be happy was not happening.
2. Could “More” Be Less Than We Think?
What are you looking for to make your life better? For some people, their “more” may end up making their lives even more complicated. I have always thought I would be so much happier if I could make more money to contribute to our family. I did get a job where I made 3 times what I made last year and was so excited! Then I found out that the cost of making that much money was lost time from my family. For that time period, I very rarely spent time with my family and, in fact, missed my daughter’s last day at home before she went off to college, all because I was busy working. “More” was less than I imagined for my life.
3. “More” May Take Years to Attain
We live in a fast-food culture. We expect to get it all now. You can see this, especially in newly married couples. Expectations are to have all the things their parents have after being married 30 years. The nice house, the boat, the camper, the new cars, and all the furnishings that match. Unfortunately, the kids can’t see the small, one-bedroom home their parents started off in or the one car they shared until they could get better. It is important to realize “more” can take you years to attain. Whether it is a certain income level, a husband, children, or a home in a particular location, it is most certainly not going to be instantly granted like a wish from a genie. Be patient with the process.
4. Enjoy the Journey to “More”
Sometimes the best part of reaching a goal is the journey. Isn’t it magical when you first meet someone and you are learning about them and dating? When you first find out you are pregnant and you feel the baby move? These are all part of the journey. While it can take hard work to get to a new job or a higher income level, the journey can be appreciated. You learn quite a bit when you are working toward a goal about yourself and about what you are doing, so take the time to enjoy the journey and appreciate what you are learning.
“More” can be what you have always imagined or it can be less than you thought. The key is enjoying the process and giving yourself grace if, in fact, it is not the “more” you thought it would be. Set goals, work toward them, and enjoy life. Don’t be stuck in the “want more” treadmill of life. Enjoy your life each and every day.