Catholic Husband

Love / Lead / Serve

Finding Contentment

Contentment. It’s a rare beast in our world. Contentment represents something that we all want, but look for in the wrong places. We think if we could only get that promotion, buy that piece of technology, or have one thing change in our marriage, everything will be perfect. Then we reach that step, and it’s not what we thought. So we set our sights higher and keep pushing. We don’t take the time to realize that things don’t fulfill us.

I struggle with contentment. I wrote about this back in September, but it seems like I haven’t made much progress. Yes, I do look for fulfillment in the wrong places. But I’ve also found that my lack of contentment is grounded in chasing the wrong goals.

Alison and I’s #1 goal is to pay off our student loans. Things are going to get moving seriously in that direction come this summer. So when I buy something that I think I want, I know it takes away from the goal of being debt-free. Then I feel uneasy about that purchase. When I decide to put money aside for debt reduction, I never get buyers remorse. I’m content because I know I’m doing something that I really, truly want.

How can we get past our own selfish desires and recognize that the things that we have right now are enough? It’s a tough struggle and I’m not sure I have anything more to add to the struggle. I think it comes down to who you are as a person, where you’re trying to go, and what it’ll take to get you there.

We all have to answer for ourselves when it comes to contentment. What is causing it, what can we do to address that void, and how do we change ourselves to be more generous, loving people?