Happiness comes and goes, but contentment lasts. The calm, pleasant, and fulfilled look on a person's face tells you they feel good about who they are. Contentment is more likely to last than happiness, an emotional response to something that can be short-lived.
In this modern world, contentment can be tough. You're always expected to engage in some activity or experience. You are conditioned to always seek more in your life. There's never enough. And you're never good enough.
You Might Be Able to Buy Happiness ... But Only for a Little While
To be happy, you buy an expensive, flashy sports car. Most of your joy is derived from showing off this vehicle. There is no true happiness that links you to this possession. You tell yourself you're happy when others envy you and your friends tell you how awesome your car is.
Your next-door neighbor walks over to admire the object of your conspicuous consumption. He can't stop saying enough. Then he begins asking you about all the different specifications of the vehicle, its features, and its capabilities.
You go to bed that night with a smile, happy that you mortgaged the farm to make this purchase you couldn't afford.
You wake up the following morning and can't wait to climb into your sweet ride and drive to work. You leave your front door, reach your vehicle, and stop dead. You can't believe what you are seeing. Just like that, your happiness disappears.
Your neighbor has bought a flashier, more expensive sports car. Yours still looks nice, but it may as well be an old clunker compared to the gorgeous vehicle parked in your neighbor's driveway. You walk towards the object of your depression just as your neighbor exits his home.
He is smiling ear to ear. There was a reason why he asked you about the features and capabilities of your vehicle. His car outdoes yours in every way, and it looks like it could get a speeding ticket sitting still.
Enough Is Never Enough
Both you and your neighbor bought into society's constant message that you can spend your way to happiness. This is never going to be possible. A purchase can't make you happy, not truly, or long-term. You can buy things you need and help you take care of your loved ones, and that's good. What you can't do is enjoy lasting happiness and contentment simply by pulling out your credit card.
This mentality requires always getting more. Society virtually screams at you to purchase more and possess more. It promises that then your life will be perfect.
The problem is that you are being sold a pack of lies. Embracing capitalism and a materialistic mindset can't make you happy.
Happiness comes from the inside. It begins with accepting who you are right now, with whatever possessions you do or do not own. You respect yourself and embrace the unique individual that is you. That's the path to lifelong contentment because you can't purchase happiness.
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