Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Be Content!

In the blog below I talked a little bit about never being content. I always seem to be wanting something else, moving toward something else, nagging about something else. . .especially the nagging part. Garry will say that he doesn't want to fix something because then I'll just start in on something else. I never seem to be content.

This can be a good and bad thing. It has helped me accomplish a lot of goals and get a lot done, especially in regard to education, but it is bad because I am never really satisfied. And I think it would be a lot less exhausting to just be satisfied.

I see this weakness in Emma. If we go to Kings Dominion, she wants to hit Chuck E. Cheese's on the way home. If we have a fun lunch at Red Robin, she wants to go to the park. If I buy her a Snow White doll, she wants Sleeping Beauty. This morning we had cinnamon rolls, and I was so excited to give my girls something for breakfast that they might actually like and be happy about! And they were. But then Emma started in on how great it would be if we could have ice cream today. It drives me crazy mostly because I realize it's my fault, or at least my faulty genes.

How do you teach a five year old about gratitude and contentment when it's a lesson you have not learned yet, either?

5 comments:

MissouriMormonMama said...

I completely understand! John is always asking me why I can't just be happy with where I'm at. So, as far as teaching kids lessons we're still working on, I don't have any great advice, but I wanted you to know you're not alone! It's too bad you're moving so soon, I like to think we could have been good friends if we'd been here at the same time ( : Maybe I'm just wierd though ( ;

Tina said...

I don't think contentment is necessarily a virtue. If you (I don't mean you literally!!!) are content you tend to mediocre. Mediocrity is never a great goal. Staying out of our comfort zone and being discontented is a way to grow versus being content and possibly in a vegetative state! There will always be something more to do, always something to fix, always work undone, always progression!

I have the opposite problem of you . . . . I'm usually content and need to STOP IT!

Tara @ Tales of a Trophy Wife said...

we you solve the problem, please post it on your blog, i'd love to know the solution

LeeAnn said...

Now there's an RS lesson for ya! Contentment. What's important vs what is not. Eternal perspective is always a handy ruler to gauge your contentment on! Are you/we more concerned about worldly contentment or spiritual? Hmmmm....gonna have to ponder on that one a bit.....

Stephanie said...

I think there's something to be said for continuing to want to grow. But there has to be happiness in the journey too. If you're (not you literally) too fixed on the problems and the problems with others that you can't love life and appreciate the people around you, for who they are, that's when there's a problem. But it's good to keep working and setting goals!