I feel like I hear the same sentiment all the time. I have felt it, and you probably have too. I feel like it’s especially prevalent among the millennial generation. Our post high school years were filled with computers, technology and recession. Jobs were few and far between when we left college. Things were tight enough that living at home until mid-twenties became a norm, as did staying on mom and dad’s insurance.
“I just have no idea what to do with myself.”
I hear it from high school teens as they enter their senior year or as they exit their school years and step into a greater unknown chock full of choices. I hear it from college students. I hear it from peers–even as we inch in on 30, still we feel like there’s something missing….something we should be doing. A calling, a fulfillment, a purpose–missing.
I blame some of it on the Internet. We know so much now. We know about quirky, niche jobs that we otherwise would have no way of seeing. It’s easy to track down jobs and lifestyles we think would be amazing…”if only.”
If only I’d majored in something different.
If only I’d gone to college.
If only I lived in there instead of here.
If only I had a better job, then I’d have savings and I could…
If only I was married, then I’d be totally happy.
For me, it’s usually in the depths of this type of wallowing that leads me to scroll through my Facebook feed. There I can what everyone in my graduating class is up to–and it always looks cooler and more put together than what we’ve got going on. There is always someone with an awesome vacation, promotion, or adorable family portraits cropping up in the News Feed. There’s always someone who looks like they love their job, make great money, have an awesome life…are totally happy.
So I got thinking today, maybe a major part of mastering the Art of Living has to do with finding contentment. I’m usually pretty happy. Which lots of people don’t understand, because I live in Practically Canada in a town that isn’t exactly on par with New York, NY. My husband has to work a lot. His work makes us move. I’m constantly shifting jobs, friends, homes…just trying to make it work. But somehow–like the cockroach that just won’t die–I remain joyful.
And I think it’s because I work very hard at being content.
Once the choice to strive for contentment–satisfaction in our station, not throwing in the towel on dreams, not hating on where we are–joy and happiness soon follows. Like lots of things, it is a choice. Like lots of choices it can be a hard one to make and even harder to follow through.
Instead of striving for perfection, take inventory of your heart and your life. See what is keeping you from contentment. Is it too many far-fetched comparisons? Step away from social media. Is it that you hate were you live? Find a way to get involved or an activity to pursue that you are passionate about. Is it relationships that squelch your dreams and self-worth, and feed a negative attitude? Put yourself out there and seek a positive circle.
Find a way to step toward contentment and joy will follow.
