{"id":2087,"date":"2023-04-17T05:43:22","date_gmt":"2023-04-17T09:43:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/a-better-path-to-contentment\/"},"modified":"2023-04-17T05:43:22","modified_gmt":"2023-04-17T09:43:22","slug":"a-better-path-to-contentment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/a-better-path-to-contentment\/","title":{"rendered":"A Better Path to Contentment"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Profit<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n

People look for contentment in any number of places.<\/p>\n

Some look for contentment in a high-paying job, yet show their discontent the first time they are passed over for a raise. <\/p>\n

Some look for it in a large home, yet show their discontent by requiring countless improvements. <\/p>\n

Many have sought contentment in a department store, believing that one more item will finally match their desire, but they are always disappointed, despite the\u00a0promises made in ads.<\/p>\n

In our consumeristic culture, where discontent is promoted and material gratification is encouraged, learning to be content can be difficult. <\/p>\n

It is a personal journey we all must travel\u2014and nobody\u2019s journey looks exactly the same as another\u2019s. There is no one-size-fits-all, seven-step program to fully attain contentment in your life. I\u2019m not here to offer one.<\/p>\n

I do, however, want to raise a question that I think can be helpful to all of us in our pursuit.<\/p>\n

What if we have been looking for contentment in all the wrong places? <\/p>\n

What if contentment is actually found in the exact opposite of the place where we have been told to look? <\/p>\n

That is, what if contentment is not found in\u00a0accumulating<\/em> more for ourselves but in\u00a0giving<\/em>\u00a0more to others?<\/p>\n

That would change everything!<\/p>\n

Benefits of Generosity<\/h2>\n

We can quickly picture how contentment would lead to generosity\u2014the less we need, the more we can give away. That\u2019s the way most of us think about it. <\/p>\n

But could it be that the inverse is also true? That the more we give, the less we need? <\/p>\n

And that generosity is the quickest pathway to contentment?<\/p>\n

Consider for just a moment why this might be the case:<\/p>\n

Generous people appreciate what they have.<\/strong><\/p>\n

People who give away some possessions hold their remaining possessions in higher esteem. People who volunteer some of their time make better use of their time remaining. And people who donate money\u00a0are less wasteful with the money left over.<\/p>\n

They understand the full potential of their resources\u2014and tend to value them more highly because of it.<\/p>\n

Generous people live happier, more fulfilled lives.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Studies have shown that generous people are happier, healthier, and\u00a0more satisfied with life<\/a>. And\u00a0once\u00a0they find this satisfaction through generosity,\u00a0they are less inclined to search for it elsewhere.<\/p>\n

Generous people find meaning outside their possessions.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is common for us to wrap up self-worth in net worth<\/a>, as if\u00a0a person\u2019s\u00a0true value could ever\u00a0be tallied on a balance sheet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Generous people, on the other hand, find their value in helping others and\u00a0quickly realize that\u00a0their bank account balance says nothing about their true\u00a0value.<\/p>\n

Generous people\u00a0have more fulfilling relationships.<\/strong><\/p>\n

People always prefer the\u00a0company of a generous giver to the company of a selfish hoarder.\u00a0People are naturally attracted toward\u00a0others who have an open heart to share. And a good friend is the best gift you could ever give yourself.<\/p>\n

In addition to benefits for the giver, generosity also benefits the receiver. Giving improves lives. It fights to overturn injustice. It solves problems. It offers an example to the world of a better way to live. And it spurs others to do the same.<\/p>\n

But there is another benefit of generosity that should not be overlooked. <\/p>\n

Maybe\u00a0the greatest benefit of generosity is the realization that we already have enough.<\/p>\n

Enough Is Enough<\/h2>\n

Our society is held hostage by the pursuit of more. No matter how much we have, we always seem to need\u00a0more<\/em>\u2014more<\/em>\u00a0stuff and\u00a0more<\/em>\u00a0money.<\/p>\n

We choose our careers for the sake of securing more. We spend the best hours of our\u00a0day trying to obtain\u00a0more. We get jealous when \u201cless deserving\u201d people seem to have more. And we constantly worry about having enough.<\/p>\n

But those who always desire more will never attain it.<\/p>\n

Even worse, this desire\u00a0for more\u00a0is having damaging effects on our society.\u00a0Take money for example.<\/p>\n

A U.S. poll reported that 85%\u00a0of people feel stressed\u00a0about money<\/a>. Now, there are some who experience this anxiety\u00a0because of legitimate financial need, but for most of us, this stress\u00a0is misplaced. <\/p>\n

In a world where 62% of the population lives off $10 or less a day<\/a>, most of our financial-related stress occurs because of artificially manufactured need.<\/p>\n

Generosity changes our perspective and helps to remove\u00a0this pursuit. It reveals to us how blessed we already are. It reminds\u00a0us we already own more than we need. It\u00a0shows us how much we have to give and how much good we can accomplish. It helps us see the needs of those we live alongside. And it offers a better alternative for our money than spending it on ourselves.<\/p>\n

Generosity counters materialism and consumerism at every point in our lives. It wars against greed and selfish pursuits. It argues against the unquenchable need for more.<\/p>\n

Giving aligns our life with higher purposes and offers a better way to live. It reminds us we already have enough. And it provides a fertile soil in our heart for contentment to grow.<\/p>\n

This contentment leads to even more generosity, which leads to even greater contentment, which leads to\u2026 See where I\u2019m going with this?<\/p>\n

Do you desire more contentment in your life? If so, try something new. Give something away. And\u00a0open up the door for\u00a0contentment and generosity to collide.<\/p>\n

As you give more things away\u2014your money, your time, your energy\u2014your life will feel lighter. Your heart will feel warmer. The world will be better.<\/p>\n

And you\u2019ll find contentment sooner than you think.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Profit<\/a>
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

People look for contentment in any number of places. Some look for contentment in a high-paying job, yet show their discontent the first time they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2088,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2087"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2087\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}