Are you contented?

If you can handle the lows, and know they are temporary, and enjoy the highs, but not get fooled by them then you're most of the way there. Comparison is the devil. Be content with what you have, but not so content that you don't have dreams and genuinely work towards them. Remember you get only one chance and the clock ticks fast, so grab opportunity. In life you more often regret what you don't do more than what you do.

I've a great family (wife,kids) and friends, had a good standard of living until the pandemic, but should return to that, good health too. I've seen most of the world but only a glimpse - looking for early retirement to see it better and enjoy things more. I have some 'demons' , I'm sure most do - I don't handle them, I just push them aside and focus on other things - I can generally only sleep when I'm very tired. It's just how it is. A key question is would you do things significantly differently if you had your time again (and expect a better outcome), no I don't think I would so on that basis I'd call myself content.
 


No I'm sick of this bastard shit c...nting weather
There’s bugger all you can do about that. Pick your battles
Contentment is nearly always temporary and always subjective, surely.

Saying that, I’m fairly content most of time.
Some people are when most people wouldn’t swap places with them.
It depends where you live in the world.
I have to agree as a generalisation. People down here seem more happy than in the cities I’ve lived in and the expectations are definitely lower down here.
 
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No not really.

Bought a house that needs loads of work. About 1/3 through but can't relax till its done.

Job is canny and have my own company now. But still working for a client so no different really.

Badly need to see family in Ireland.

And not sure where I would be happiest. Love the British countryside being on Europe's doorstep and having family close (when we can see them) but yearn for life down under again. I'm not sure I'll
ever solve that one for good.

Sunderland are shite and I've no confidence in the playoffs.

And were a nation of plonkers run by duplicitous shits.

Worse than I thought.
 
I ought to be content but I'm not . I have far more than I ever dreamt of and this Is probably more than I deserve as I've always put minimal effort into everything I've done . I feel guilty about this to some extent when I see how most other people live . I think the disastrous first twenty years of my life have scarred me so deeply I'll never be completely satisfied .
 
I ought to be content but I'm not . I have far more than I ever dreamt of and this Is probably more than I deserve as I've always put minimal effort into everything I've done . I feel guilty about this to some extent when I see how most other people live . I think the disastrous first twenty years of my life have scarred me so deeply I'll never be completely satisfied .
Surely it’s not just materialistic things that makes someone happy. Granted , being skint and unhappy is worse than being minted and unhappy
 
Is it a generational thing?
Woke up this morning after posting on here last night thinking to myself 'Well it wouldnt be good going to your grave malcontent.'
During my youth and middle age there were a thousand other things to get on with without experiencing contentment. Happiness, elation, the joy of having made some meagre achievement but contentment, actually being at total peace with myself, was something rarely felt.
Perhaps it is something which we achieve in late age when all passion and ambition is spent and makes the fading of the light bearable and in fact welcomed.
f***ing Sunderland.
 
Why is it most things you say are not applicable to me, I’m pretty content but not fat or lazy.

Not giving a fuck is one of the best avenues to contentment.

Well other than having debates on here but that’s just entertainment.

Wise words Marra. One of the benefits of getting older.
Don’t have to go to work
Got food to eat roof over my head comfy bed and enough stuff and gadgets
I am blessed that my health issues are under control but I am always aware that I am only one step away from total physical uselessness but I thank God that scenario is. Kept at bay but like everyone we in reality just live one day at a. time and be thankful for great family ,neighbours and friends .

I have health concerns about family members but my key to life is not to be envious of what others may have because being envious of others stuff and materials doesn’t add any qualities to ones own life
So yes I am thankful every day the for the grace that the sun rises for me and I can be thankful
Very sorry to read that Marra. May I ask what it is that afflicts you if that's not too nosy?
 
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Is it a generational thing?
Woke up this morning after posting on here last night thinking to myself 'Well it wouldnt be good going to your grave malcontent.'
During my youth and middle age there were a thousand other things to get on with without experiencing contentment. Happiness, elation, the joy of having made some meagre achievement but contentment, actually being at total peace with myself, was something rarely felt.
Perhaps it is something which we achieve in late age when all passion and ambition is spent and makes the fading of the light bearable and in fact welcomed.
f***ing Sunderland.
It would be a shame to be only content when lying on a death bed. Wouldn’t it be better living life happy with what you are doing at that moment?
 
Is it a generational thing?
Woke up this morning after posting on here last night thinking to myself 'Well it wouldnt be good going to your grave malcontent.'
During my youth and middle age there were a thousand other things to get on with without experiencing contentment. Happiness, elation, the joy of having made some meagre achievement but contentment, actually being at total peace with myself, was something rarely felt.
Perhaps it is something which we achieve in late age when all passion and ambition is spent and makes the fading of the light bearable and in fact welcomed.
f***ing Sunderland.
I’m 34, perhaps I’m old before my time 😂
 
I think there is a difference between being content and being happy I would say im very happy

Have a good secure job with a girlfriend (no) that i know is on another level to me, a good family who are always looking out for each other

However not content as im always striving to make the kids lives better and make sure they are always ok so not sure i will ever be content

I think it can be a hard life and as said before we all have our demons to deal with and plans that we have either failed at or are still in our dreams (i have both of those)

Life is what you make it i reckon and right now coming out of lockdown properly will hopefully open more doors and let us all be more happy/content
 
It would be a shame to be only content when lying on a death bed. Wouldn’t it be better living life happy with what you are doing at that moment?
Oh don-t get me wrong I live a blessed and contented life and the contentment of old age seems qualitively different than past times when I felt happy. I kinda think happiness which is fleeting is a very different mind set to contentment. And what is old age but a time to reflect and make peace with one's self and the world. I truly enjoy the pleasures of existence in a way which is different, freed from the stresses of earlier years when there were things like a career and a mortgage and finding ones place in the World and the pressures of family. All that is now sorted for me. I can get get one with making the garden as best as I can and that's enough. Caring for my immediate environment. Shame about Sunderland afc though. But into everyones life a little rin must fall.
 
Content =fat /lazy and stopped giving a fuck in my opinion.
Don't be so harsh on yourself ;)

I think that person you mention just doesn't give a F
That's different to being content
Content is not killing yourself over stuff you have little control over
Its recognizing what you have achieved and working with what you have in any given situation
I Know loads of people who have moaned through life non stop .Always something or someone else's fault as well
Its a state of mind ,a good one .It doesn't mean you will put up and shut up with anything
 
Don't be so harsh on yourself ;)

I think that person you mention just doesn't give a F
That's different to being content
Content is not killing yourself over stuff you have little control over
Its recognizing what you have achieved and working with what you have in any given situation
I Know loads of people who have moaned through life non stop .Always something or someone else's fault as well
Its a state of mind ,a good one .It doesn't mean you will put up and shut up with anything
We need more dopamine.
 
I'm mid-30s and feel too young to be contented - I want to provide better experiences for my kids, see more of the world, do more things in my career and build more of a safety net for the family so when I'm ready to slow down and be contented I've got the capacity to enjoy it without having to worry about anything financial.
I was content at a young age with an average job and renting a flat ,i lived life to the full . It was never about a slow pace etc its about living in the now and not beating yourself up about stuff . Maybe settled would fit a lot of what people are mentioning here .Thats different
 

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