Inertia seems to be everything

[flexagon]

Once I actually work on my side project, I want to work on it again soon. A countertop that has clutter on it will accumulate more clutter. Some say that money attracts more money; it's obvious that getting one cat is a gateway to getting more cats. It's a bad idea to think about this too much -- I could start thinking that EVERYTHING is addictive.

If you feel like reading a link, check out The unmistakable freedom of contentment. I find it pretty interesting to think of developing contentment as a practice or goal in itself. I've always viewed it as an emergent property that happens when things align just right. I wonder why I'm fine with the idea of working on happiness, or gratitude, but surprised at the idea of working on contentment. Something subtle is going on there.

Comments

[dr-alycat.livejournal.com]

OK, now that I've actually gone and read that contentment blog post:

They focus on how acquiring goods is not the right way to achieve contentment. But for me, this is really not the problem. I tend to have the more general attitude "I'm always kind of dissatisfied with my life, but I don't know why or how to fix it." That doesn't mean I'm bummed about not having a nicer car or a newer iPod; it also doesn't mean that I turn to retail therapy to feel better. It's more the feeling that between my career, marriage, friendships, etc., I "should" be happier.

Some of the other suggestions in the blog hint at this, but what do you think about how to cope and overcome this?

[flexagon]

They focus on how acquiring goods is not the right way to achieve contentment.

Something I don't totally agree with, btw (a few high-quality items CAN make a huge difference here and there), but I think I'll rant about that in response to kaigex instead of here.

I tend to have the more general attitude "I'm always kind of dissatisfied with my life, but I don't know why or how to fix it." ... It's more the feeling that between my career, marriage, friendships, etc., I "should" be happier. ... what do you think about how to cope and overcome this?

Oh my gosh. Big questions! Good things to talk about in person maybe. I obviously don't know the answers to Life, but speaking as someone who's read a whole lot of happiness related stuff, that whole "should be happier" feeling seems to be really common. The big things I've read about for breaking out of that are helping other people, and getting a gratitude practice going. As an introvert I'm more into that second one. It doesn't have to be sappy or a journal -- though of course it *can* be a journal and you should see http://thxthxthx.com for a smile.

Question back at ya: do you have one thing going on every week that you're naturally excited about and really look forward to? (Edited to add naturally.)