The Art of Contentment
By: Kindra Moné
2020 has done a number on every single one of us. We’ve been pushed out of our comfort zones and many of us are finding ourselves away from family (or stuck with family), out of work (or working from home), and in a national state of madness. None of this is comfortable, and yet, I am content.
There was a time in my life when contentment felt like a far off destination. I would often say things like, “I’ll be content when I have X amount of money, or this type of relationship, or reach that level of my career.” But now, I understand that contentment and complacency are not one in the same. I can be content with little, while striving for much. I can be totally happy in my small 1 bedroom apartment while dreaming of a Harlem brownstone with a backyard. I can also enjoy a Monday morning at work while simultaneously looking forward to a lazy evening on my coach.
Chasing exciting moments is not a sustainable recipe for inner joy. Ambition is not the enemy of contentment. Seeking outside factors as a source of happiness is what leaves us feeling empty and unfulfilled. Once you truly understand that nothing and no one outside of yourself can sustain your happiness, then you are finally on your way.
There’s a reason why people are googling how to be happy more than ever these days. It’s because we’re waiting on a skincare routine or a vacation to tell us that we’ve finally arrived. Moments of happiness can come and go, but our state of contentment should be ever-present.
Here are some practically ways to find contentment:
Begin or end each day with a gratitude journal
Practice affirmations that reinforce joy. Example: “I have a contagious zeal for life. I find joy in my day to day responsibilities. I approach every interaction with gratitude.”
Stop comparing your life to others! Comparison is the biggest thief of joy.
The secret to contentment involves not looking to your daily happenings, or even to your bank account as a measure of your peace.
Many love to say, “I can do all things through Christ,” but they don’t realize that this was actually not a motivational speech telling us that noting is impossible. In fact, Paul was writing this letter from prison, and expressing that he knows how to live being hungry or well fed, with a lot or with little — and he wasn’t even comparing either state of being as better than the other. He was simply expressing that he can be content within any circumstance, because of his strong faith and spirituality. Today, it is my knowledge that I am a divine being, that I am loved, and that I have purpose that brings me back to contentment when things get rocky.
So what is it that is grounding you in your own contentment? Find it within yourself so that you too can be unmoved by the state of the matters around you.
With Style & SOUL,
Kindra Moné
*This story was inspired by a workshop within The Full Garden, led by Pricelis Dominguez