Friday 12 December 2014

Restless

(a completely random and irrelevant image of eggs...just because)

If someone gave me a dollar for every time I changed my blog layout I would be a millionaire right now. Honest.

I'm a restless soul.

And sometimes I fear it is for the worst.

You see I am always changing my mind on things. I get bored quickly. I am always moving and if I'm sitting still I tend to itch and twitch, always restless.
I never seem completely satisfied.

I think there's a big problem in this though.

You see if I am never completely satisfied then I am always going to be wanting more from the life I am living. I am always striving for more, and while there is benefit in this, I can't help but wonder if this goal is one I can achieve?

Sadly, I don't think so because being unable to be satisfied means I will never actually reach an end stage to a particular goal. I will never be satisfied with where I end up.

But I'm not alone. I think this notion is very common among people my age. We have this idea that as soon as we finish school everything will be better, but then we realise this exactly true so we set ourselves another goal. We think, well then maybe as soon as we finish university everything will be better. But again, we finish our studies and we realise the burden of responsibility is upon us and we start to notice this trend, that as time goes on life gets harder. But we continue with our dreaming and hope that once we find a boyfriend, or we get married, or we have kids, things will get better.

"Things will get better when...."

Truth is it doesn't get better when you have that kind of mindset.

The truth is, life doesn't just 'get better' when you have more money, or a husband, or a 'thigh gap' or your own home. And while these things may certainly help in some situations, it's our mindset that, I believe, is the answer to our satisfaction.

I read this quote today from an article on this same idea that said:


"If you can’t be happy where you are, with what you have, you never will"

And it is so true. Why should the pursuit of happiness be a pursuit at all? Why can't we just be happy now? Why do we have to keep striving towards this unattainable goal? Telling people they will one day be happy if they have x, y and z is giving people a false hope. We should telling people they can be happy today because they already have h, i and j or even p, q and r. We should be able to be happy with what we have.

And I say 'should' because this idea ain't easy. Just this week I had a big cry to Stephen because I felt unhappy with where my life was going, where we were going and that I didn't know where I was supposed to be. He told me to look back on my year and count my blessings and see how much I have achieved and how much I have right in this moment.

I felt like a bit of a fool after that.

I guess I'm saying, it's not wrong to strive for more, in fact I think it's healthy but if you're striving for more because you are hoping things will get just 'get better' when you reach your destination, then maybe you need to reevaluate.

When was the last time you felt truly satisfied?

** Edit: I just noticed my scrolling sidebar goes all out of wack on mobile devices. I will try and fix this as soon as I can. Anyone got any idea why this is happening? Help a sister out! **

23 comments:

  1. oh my god. I could not agree with this more! I do try to be happy with what I have now, instead of actually trying to gain happiness. It sure isn't easy.
    I'm quite restless with my blog's layout, too. Yours is gorgeous :)

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  2. You're so completely right. I always want more. No matter what. Someone always has something I want, and even when I get what I said I wanted, I want something else. It's a never ending cycle and it needs to stop. We all need to be happy with what we have right now.

    -M
    The Life of Little Me

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  3. The curse of the artist. This couldn't be more true, and hopefully we will come to our senses. But I love those moments when you become completely aware of all the good in your life and how blessed we truly are.

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  4. I like this new layout, I think it's good to be curious and also appreciate what you have - can anyone really find the perfect balance though - it keeps life interesting!

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  5. I am right with you standing on the exact same crack trying and trying and trying to close it but my goodness what a convincing crack it is. My mom likes to muse about this "being happy where you are with what you have no matter what" stuff constantly, and I totally understand it and it makes so much sense, but my gosh, where's the how-to book? It seems so logical to think, sometimes, that everything will get better when you reach a goal, but then you reach that goal and nothing really happens. But then I'm always thinking, oh wait, that's because I haven't done this yet, or this, or that. Maddening, I tell you! Perhaps this should be a goal in 2015 for myself, to train myself to feel content.

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    Replies
    1. this is my goal too, for all of us. And you're right, where is the bloody how-to book? I need it pronto

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  6. so true! I guess we all have been in that situation at some point....

    I love this John Lennon quote; somehow related: "Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans."

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  7. you are so right, girl. (and beyond lovely picture, too.) i love it when writers aren't afraid to change thier layouts though. there's a level of fearlessness and not caring what others think above the voice in your head, and above all, ownership. personally, i've loved all your layouts. i mean, they're all kind of the same though too, it's stil your blog.
    also, sorry i've been such a bad reader. i do try my best to keep up and i do...most of the time. have a lovely day :)

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  8. yes, yes, yes. your words are astoundingly beautiful.

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  9. Oh I needed to hear this. I too find myself getting restless and ready for that "next" stage of my life. I'm slowly (slooooowly) learning to be content and satisfied with every stage of life. Thank you for this reminder!

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  10. So very true. I definitely can relate to that feeling of striving. Definitely need to remind myself of my many undeserved blessings more often!

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  11. oh man!! Thank you so much for this!! Totally going through the same thing right now, and having to try and decide what my life goals even are, and its tough to balance between 'its good to not get satisfied and keep moving to achieve more' and 'look where I've come from, I should be proud, and be enjoying right now, its messy and imperfect, but dumb to just wait till that one perfect day in the future when I have a happy family, house, work balance with everything'. I think the seeing other peoples lives in small snapshots looking perfect and different to ours definitely adds to that as well!

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  12. It's true it's true!!
    Thanks, you're a gem.

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  13. I couldn't agree more. I think it is important to be happy whatever moment you are living.
    P.S. love your new layout

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  14. A fab reminder to just be humble with what you have (But I am partial to a new lay out ALL THE TIME). You're not alone x

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  15. Great post! I used to have that whole "I'll be happier when..." mindset. Luckily I learned to think about what is making me happy now. Thanks for sharing!

    sprucesandstones.weebly.com

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  16. my layout changes a little on a weekly basis, guilty here! I'm restless too, it's soo darn hard to settle and I hope I'm staying with the current one, for real, this time. fingers crossed :) (p.s I may find meddling with the template and codes way too much fun to resist at times haha) x

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  17. I think something that's comforting in regards to finding happiness is that there's not just one thing that makes us happy. We have the power to choose whether today will be a good day or not. Dreaming can sometimes be a burden but not dreaming at all is worse. Feel better soon.

    Ps. Layout changes are the bomb diggity and freshness is good. Don't apologise for that! :)

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  18. I just want to tell you that I know EXACTLY how you feel & I've been having to remind myself that we have to make the choice to be happy where we are because there is nothing guaranteed beyond this moment. So good to read from another's perspective. Really enjoy your posts.

    latxlong.blogspot.com

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