Literary it’s hard for human beings to ever be contented due to mainly a couple of selfish reasons though on the other hand, it’s in our human nature not to be contented
Even when we have the best of everything we will still look for more of it
Satisfaction is a broad term, are we satisfied with food or materialistic things? For all I know we can only be satisfied with food on a timely basis but what of materialistic items?
The following are examples of every day human dissatisfaction
Having Multiples sex partners; Am sure someone can have a beautiful wife but still, they would not be satisfied with the one they have and still cheat
Riches; maybe by now bill Gates can retire and enjoy his money but incidentally, he still strives to make more money. May be to cater to his charity organizations who knows?
Power. This is more evident in third world countries where presidents do not want to leave power. They are always ridging elections and if the citizens tried to revolt against them, they would be shot live bullets. All this is in the name of staying in power and enjoying privileges
All those are signs of the greed of which we can all relate to in that If we’re put in those people’s shoes we are very much likely to be like them just like because maybe we are human
There is also a thin line between being content with life and settling for less.
Contented is being happy and satisfied with what you have /and not settling for less which means being happy and satisfied with the little you have even though you could be able to attain more if you tried to
So it’s hard to tell if someone is satisfied or just settling but it is also hard for someone to settle for less if they are capable of achieving more
Dissatisfaction is also one of the things that motivate us to keep trying and keeping achieving more than what we already have thus not settling for less
And if motivation is one of the reasons as to why we do anything, then human beings cannot be satisfied in life as we are motivated by what we would gain. In this case, we are being motivated to gain more than we already have
This also puts into perspective the fact that humans are naturally greedy. Because if I am to use the example of bill gates or any billionaire, then what exactly are they working to achieve?
Aren’t they already happy and satisfied with what they have considering they have enough money to buy whatever they want?
But if people with all that amount of money cannot be satisfied in that even if we calculated the cash they have at hand and not in assets it’s enough to take them for the next 100 years even considering inflation
So if people with all that money cannot be satisfied considering money is everything, what of those that have way less than they do?
This just logically implies a poor person with less can never be satisfied if a person with that much cannot be satisfied
But do not get me wrong and become lazy, one of the reasons that a rich person will not stop working is because they are avoiding losing all the riches they have made which also implies that apart from gain, we are also motivated by fear
And in this case, the fear of becoming poor keeps these rich guys working
When are People satisfied In Life?
People can be satisfied when they reach the top of something and there is not any further to go. Though this can lead to summit syndrome (feeling empty because they aren’t any more things to motivate you considering you have achieved anything there is).
Maybe this why people are never contented with money because money is numbers and numbers are infinite
When you are realistic with your self you can also be satisfied for instance if you have been earning 100 dollars a month, and you improved to 10k. that could make you happy considering the progress
When you measure your progress, for example, you have been earning 100 dollars a month and now you are earning 3000 dollars a week you can really get satisfied and you are not longing for more coz that is 12k a month compared to the previous $100 which is over a 100 times more
When you hit a target, this is quite direct, I mean if you wanted to win a race or travel the world or visit Mount Everest. You are likely to be satisfied after you have achieved that goal
The part where humans are meant to be discontented in nature
Humans are designed by nature to seek what they do not have. When we attain or achieve something, we tend to look for that which we do not have so that we can also be able to get it.
It’s how we are inherently made for example if you buy a bicycle you will then what to upgrade to a motorcycle, and when you get a motorcycle you will not be contented by it and you will want to buy a car, and when you get it, you will also want to upgrade to a better car.
In the end, you will not be contented by what you have, and even when you get a better car you will want at least 10 of them and when you get the 10 you will want them in different colors or the latest models
You can also term it as not knowing what one wants, for example, most girls want to marry a rich man(who doesn’t want anyway?), the chances are high if he’s rich he will definitely be busy so he won’t have time for you or even family
It’s in this instance that wives of rich men cheat; they are looking for what they do not have and not contented with the money in this instance they will cheat with men that have time for them
And if he has time and money she could cheat with a tall man, and if he is tall then she will cheat with a short one, if he’s fat she could cheat with skinny and if he’s black he will cheat with a white
And if he is broke but has time for her, she will look for the one with money because that’s what she lacks
The example above shows how people are never contented at all even when you would feel what they have is enough.
In other words, people turn out greedy and they would want a piece of each and everything.
Conclusion
Human beings can be satisfied in life but only if personally favorable factors and situations come into play as we all have different things that we can be satisfied with if we reached a certain level of achievement in them
Some people would be contented if they got a job, others if they married others if they had a child..etc
The lesson here is do all you can for someone with your best efforts and it will be up to them to show gratitude as you cannot force it
In the same way, you should also be always grateful to your achievements and not take them for granted through dissatisfaction but also not settle for less
And you should also not have sleepless nights trying to please someone because someone is easily contented with little you are able to give them under instances as they love you, they understand the situation under which you are providing it to them or even when they are realistic with the conditions at hand