6 Reasons People Are Never Satisfied With What They Have

The local radio station I was tuned into this morning had a short discussion about the reasons people are never satisfied. It went on to reveal that a study has found that the richest people on earth are the most unhappiest!

You and I may not fall into the richest people on earth (ahem..), but still, would you consider yourself satisfied with what you have?

Have you ever wondered why even after you bought some items you have always wanted, soon after you find yourself wanting something else?
Think tank: why are we never satisfied with what we have?

Here are some thoughts from the radio show, along with my own musings....

#1. We are not meant to be satisfied on earth!

Sounds funny don't you think? Or perhaps, a pessimistic comment. I doubt that personal development gurus will agree with this one. Leave a comment, I'd like to know what you think.

#2. Something Out There Is Better Than What We Have

Jim Collins (famous business author), in his newest title, How The Mighty Fall: And Why Some Companies Never Give In, terms this as "The Undisciplined Pursuit of More"

Even if the current condition keeps on improving, the desire to have more continue to grow. Therefore, in order to feel satisfied we got to have everything we currently missing, to the point that there is nothing we can want anymore. Hm.. mathematically possible :-) But is it realistic?

#3. If we can remain satisfied, we would never be motivated to do anything!

I tend to partly agree with this one. If you look at innovations in the past, you'll find a back story where someone was not satisfied with something! I think that the desire for more is what keeps us moving forward. We all need something to strive for. This may not necessarily be monetary; it can be more knowledge, better health, etc.

So basically, if you were truly satisfied with something, its unlikely that you would be motivated to do more?

#4. We are not appreciative of what we already have

What you have right now, could be what someone else may want. (in a literal sense) For example, you may have a loving family etc and there may be someone out that who would think that that's their ideal happiness.

#5. We have high expectations

Sometime ago I wrote a post on, Expectations: Is It A Human Weakness?
It generate some interesting discussions via comments.
Lydia said...

We will always have expectations. It is the prediction of the (often uncertain) future based on what we know and the passed, in order to make ourselves feel more certain in the face of the unknown.
.....
Be clear about what you want, what you expect, the outcome, expect the best, but then know that what ever happens it is always for the best and if it does not work out how we expect at the time, there is a bigger plan in place that we may not yet be able to see that is greater then the picture in our minds.

#6. We are not satisfied because we rarely follow our hearts

It seemed that lot of people tend to take decisions surrounding monitory gains. We don’t stop to do the things we were meant to do, because those things usually don’t produce the amount of money we'd like.

Let's discuss.. what are your thoughts?

Are You Practicing Being Unhappy?

You probably read the headline twice. You might have wondered whether the author of this post has made a mistake in writing the headline or think this post is plain ridiculous!

Of course you won’t “practice” being unhappy; at least not intentionally. But what do I mean by “Practicing Being Unhappy”?
Suppose, for argument’s sake that your goal was to be as unhappy, frustrated, and stressed out as possible. What would you need to do? The only way to guarantee that you would success would be to think lots of unhappy, angry, stressful thoughts. Without them, you wouldn’t be able to be as unhappy as you’d like.


This works because our thoughts are closely linked to our state of mind and the way we feel, we need to think negatively before we actually can feel that way. If you don’t believe me, give it a try. Just try to get upset right now without first thinking about something that upsets you.

We are always thinking, every moment of the day. It just that we’re not always aware that we are doing so. Thinking is a bit like breathing in the sense that, until you read the word “breathing” just now, you probably weren’t aware of your breath. Thinking is like that too. It goes on and on, whether we are aware of it or not.

The problem is, if we’re not aware of the link and connection between our thoughts and the way we feel, our thoughts can and often do encourage us to feel bad. This in turn, makes us act out in negative ways.

If you can catch yourself thinking negatively and drop those thoughts, then often you can snap yourself out of a negative state of mind simply by realizing. That doesn’t mean that it’s always going to be easy, but it sure helps to get you back on track!

Related Posts

• Give Yourself An Attitude Tune-Up
• 3 Simple Ways To Foster An Attitude Of Gratitude
• Do You Belong?
• The 5 Emotions That Drag Us Down Or Shape Our Destiny

Happiness Is Voyage

(Source:email, I don't know who the actual author is)

We convince ourselves that life will be better once we are married, have a baby, then another.

Then we get frustrated because our children are not old enough, and that all will be well when they are older.

Then we are frustrated because they reach adolescence and we must deal with them. Surely we’ll be happier when they grow out of the teen years.

We tell ourselves our life will be better when our spouse gets his/her act together, when we have a nicer car, when we can take a vacation, when we finally retire.

The truth is that there is no better time to be happy than right now. If not, then when?

Your life will always be full of challenges. It is better to admit as much and to decide to be happy in spite of it all.

For the longest time, it seemed that life was about to start. Real life.
But there was always some obstacle along the way, an ordeal to get through, some work to be finished, some time to be given, a bill to be paid. Then life would start.
I finally came to understand that those obstacles were life.

That point of view helped me see that there isn’t any road to happiness.
Happiness IS the road.

So, enjoy every moment.
Stop waiting for school to end, for a return to school, to lose ten pounds, to gain ten pounds, for work to begin, to get married, for Friday evening, for Sunday morning, waiting for a new car, for your mortgage to be paid off, for spring, for summer, for fall, for winter, for the first or the fifteenth of the month, for your song to be played on the radio, to die, to be reborn… before deciding to be happy.

Dale Carnegie Guide To A Happier YOU

I didn't choose to write this post because I am a 100% happy person. Just like you, I too have my share of problems (or rather challenges!). Just like you, I have gone through many hardships to be where I am today.


Over the years, many people have helped me "get out of bed in the morning, when I didn't want to!". I am going make public one such person; Mr. Dale Carnegie. I have never met him. I have never spoken to him. He never existed in my era! Yet, he is one of those people who has influenced me to be the person I am today.

Oh well, if still don't know who he is…..
Dale Carnegie was an American writer and the developer of famous courses in self-improvement, corporate training, public speaking, and interpersonal skills.
In this post, I will share with you some of his inspirational truisms (along side my two cents!). I hope that it will guide you, to be a happier YOU.

Did you ever see an unhappy horse? Did you ever see a bird that has the blues? One reason why birds and horses are not unhappy is because they are not trying to impress other birds and horses.~Dale Carnegie

Yes, I believe it is a human tendency -the need to impress others. You want to impress your parents, family, boss, friends, neighbors etc I admit, I am no different. To a certain extent, I don't think its wrong. If what we didn't impress anyone, would we want to do more?
I feel that we try to impress everyone and as a result, end up unhappy. So in a way, our happiness is dependent on others; The things they say and do. What you really need to ask yourself is, do we need to impress everyone? Would it be sufficient, to impress ONLY a few people that matter the most to us?

Remember, happiness doesn't depend upon who you are or what you have; it depends solely upon what you think.~Dale Carnegie

Think about it. How is it that two people from related backgrounds end up so different? Is it the people they come across? Can intelligence, luck and hereditary explain it? There are many stories of people overcoming every possible obstacle and still succeeding. 
A research article over at MSNBC tilted Do you have what it takes to lead a happier life? suggests that we should think of three good things that happened within the day and analyze why they occurred.
Some days I really have to apply myself to find three good things! However, I have being practicing this since the day I read the article and found it to be rewarding. Try it out yourself. Can you steer your thoughts, towards happiness?

Feeling sorry for yourself, and your present condition, is not only a waste of energy but the worst habit you could possibly have.~Dale Carnegie

Our journey to the lost destination is never a smooth ride to say the least. It could be a bad day at work, an argument with a friend, relationship problems … the list goes on. Life smacks us hard when we least expect it. That's why you need 6 Ways to make you feel good (when the going gets tough)

If you can't sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there worrying. It's the worry that gets you, not the lack of sleep.~Dale Carnegie

It says it all, doesn't it?

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.~Dale Carnegie

Mr. Dale Carnegie was born into poverty on a small farm in Missour. In his teens, though still having to get up at 4 a.m. every day to milk his parents' cows, he managed to get educated at the State Teacher's College in Warrensburg.
I can give plenty of examples such as this. In fact, you might have your own stories as well. So don't stop trying. The silver lining may be an inch away. Easier said than done! (I know)

One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.~Dale Carnegie

I will be happy when …. I get a better job
I will be happy when …. we move to our new house
I will be happy when …. I pay off all my loans

Sounds familiar? We tend to postpone being happy giving all sorts of excuses. I bet if, achieve our goals one day, we will still have plenty of excuses, even then.

We have today. For some, when you realize this, it too late. Don't let that be you.

If you find this article helpful, subscribe to Enhance Life for free updates by RSS.

Related Posts
6 Ways to make you feel good (when the going gets tough)
Change - The Only Constant In Life
5 Reasons Why Letting Go Is So Difficult
The Recipe Of The ‘Ideal’ Person