There are moments when I wonder if I’ll ever be happy. I mean truly content.
Do you ever get that feeling? That sinking feeling that you might never just breath, look around and say, “I love it all. And I wouldn’t change a thing.”
I do. I get that feeling. Often.
My life is in transition – quit my job, new house, planning for a business, thinking about life in my 30s – and, although life is always changing, I guess, I can’t help but feel that right now I’m on the cusp of so many new things and a complete life transformation that I have to wonder if all the uneasiness I feel is even worth it.
When it’s all said and done, then, will I be totally satisfied? And what if I’m not?
This isn’t the post where I whine about my life. In fact, I’d like to think that my posts don’t have that kind of vibe (God, I hope not). But this will be the post where I dig a little deeper into my heart and my mind to share this very real, very big, booming feeling that sits in my stomach more often than not. I’m writing it because I bet that many of you have had that same feeling – that sense that no matter what you do with your life, you may never be satisfied. By the end of this post, I hope you’ll have gained a little insight into this big question.
I read this post by Penelope Trunk this week (you all know how much I dig her) and her take on the whole LeBron James fiasco. Although I don’t give a shit about basketball, her insights on the topic of contentment gave me some solace about the state of my mind and forced me to ask myself this very important questions: are you the type of person who is loyal and content or always on the hunt for something new and interesting, possibly never to be fully satisfied?
It’s really not a question of which one is better – happy and stay-put or ambitious and always searching. It’s an exercise in deciding, and accepting, what type you can identify with, if for nothing else than to gain a little added clarity on what makes you tick.
It was painfully obvious to me that I’m the latter: always hunting.
I say “painfully” because I believe that the human mission in life is to experience content; to be truly happy. “Life is a pursuit of happiness”, they say, but what if, like me, you realize that it’s the pursuit, not the arrival, that makes you happy. What if you realize that you may never truly be satisfied. Or happy.
Will I ever be supremely happy?
Simultaneously (I love spelling that word) I was relieved and sad to get my answer. Relieved because I identified that, like LeBron James, the pursuit of happiness is what makes me feel good, alive. Sad, however, that I may be one of those who never quite understands how to roll around in her success and just soak it all in. This is the exact thing people in my life, whom I love, warn me about.
I watched the Simon Cowell-Oprah interview recently and, although I also don’t give a shit about American Idol or Cowell himself, I am fascinated by his career (same goes for Lady GaGa, Drake and the lady who runs the most popular healthy restaurant in Toronto).
The way Simon Cowell spoke about his addiction to the pursuit, his moments of depression and how he, too, is never satisfied had me glued to the television. How can someone with so much fame, money, power and access to the world’s best-of-everything still be searching for more? But apparently, that’s how he likes it. Or, at the very least, accepts he is this way.
I never thought I’d have something in common with a guy like Simon Cowell, but, just like LeBron James, their incessant need to pursue more made sense to me more than the thought of just being content and staying right where I am. And, although I’m the hunter, I do envy and admire those who just simply know how to relish in their lives.
Maybe, someday soon I hope, I can make the latter a pursuit, too.
So, I have a question for you (and you don’t have to leave a comment necessarily, but do think about it): Do you lean towards content and satisfied with you current life or, like me, always on the pursuit?
And then I arbitrarily ask you again: And do you accept that about yourself?
For me, the jury’s still out on that one.
***
EDIT NOTE: Just found this video… and decided, this is what I think happy looks like.
I feel the same about myself. But I’m worse. What keeps me far from happines is my work and I’ll never have the courage to quit it. Deep inside my heart, I believe this crisis will pass and I’ll feel happy and proud about how stronger I was when people I love needed me the most. But this is an warming dream that I keep in my heart. Right now, I’m just a person who’s trying not to hide a smile…
*It’s dificult for all of us, but in the end, if we try hard, I think it worth it.*
The way I see it is this: life is never going to be perfect. There is always going to be the struggle amidst all the good stuff. Hapiness is a kind of a decision – you have to grasp onto those amazing, great moments (even if they are fleeting) & enjoy them with all your heart. Keep moving forward towards your dreams but don’t forget to stop & enjoy the view (This advice was given to me by an 80+ year old so I trust she knows what she is talking about ;))
About the only thing I’d like to change about my life as it is is that I’d like less corporate male bovine faeces in it. Unfortunately, about the only reasonably steady jobs in my fairly specialised line of work (but one I love) are all with big companies.
I can really relate to this post. It seems like no matter where I am, the grass is always greener somewhere else. Right now I am struggling with this idea a lot. I have a good job in a nice city, but I really just want to move somewhere else because I think my life will be better there. It doesn’t even really matter where it is, as long as it is somewhere else. I think this is why I have not spent more than 2 years in any one place since I graduated from college.
I’m the same…always on the pursuit. I’m bad at celebrating small victories and instead keep pushing and looking to the next obstacle. Like you, I am happy quite a lot, but it’s that contentment piece that seems to be missing. I can never find contentment. I read about and know the steps on how it needs to happen, but I just can’t get there yet. And that’s what I accept about myself…I’m just not there yet. The idea that rolls around my just turned 30 brain is whether and when I am going to feel like I’m really living and not simply just existing.