I am grateful for everything
Folks,
How often do you feel thankful for everything in life?
Thankful for (still) being able to breath and wake up in the morning...
Thankful for (still) having a job, making ends meet and accomplishing things...
Thankful for (still) being able to study and go for exams...
Thankful for (still) having family & bestfriends who will be there for you through good & bad times...
Thankful for (still) being able to get in touch with your surroundings and appreciate them...
How often?
For me, I'm practising the art of feeling grateful and satisfied everyday. I'd always look for the positive side of all things, even when we're constantly bombarded with all the bad news and the world is not a perfect place either.
Some people say, "Lower your expectations (on yourself and others) then you'll be less dissappointed and more satisfied when things don't go your way."
But honestly,
Do you really want to live a mediocre life with low expectations? what if you have what it takes to live an extraordinary life? Will you strive for more and achieve excellence?
Then, how do you define self-satisfaction? gratitude? Will you be thankful for every single thing and be satisfied when things don't go according to your plans?
People have different expectations and I think it's time to clearly define mine.
According to online dictionary,
Self-satisfaction is --> joy originating from man’s contemplation of himself and his power of action ; the contentment one feels when one has fulfilled a desire, need, or expectation; the feeling you have when you are satisfied with yourself; pride, contentment
There are many aspects in life that we've unconsciously filled with various expectations, either from yourself or others (family, friends).
At school, we expect to get good grades after studying hard.
At work, we expect some compliments from our superiors after a job well-done.
At home, we expect our parents/children to be helpful and loving all the time...
In a relationship, we expect our partner to be understanding, caring, and etc etc..
Expectations are the best motivating factors when set according to one's capability. Otherwise, 'impossible' expectations can be suffocating and it'll only force us to escape and break down in the long run. The feeling of contentment after achieving our expectations/goals is the best feeling to nurture. All of us should have our own unique definition for expectations that will lead to self-satisfaction. For me, to define the overall self-satisfaction level, there are five aspects to consider:
1) Career
My previous expectations (from previous post --> here):
1. I want a job that allows me the freedom of setting my own small goals to achieve bigger goals for the company. With only the necessary and appropriate guidance and I also like the idea of accomplishing things without having to wait for someone else to make decisions.
The reality
I'm grateful. Currently I have that freedom to set my own little goals within a limited job scope. That's the fact if you work in a corporate, the systems has to be so well-defined that everybody's in charge of little chunk of workload that if combined, could help in achieving a big part of company's goal. But the "wait-for-someone-else-to-make-decisions" part is inevitable if you're still working for others. Even if you're an entrepreneur, you'll still need to wait for your customer's decisions. People really can't live by ourselves, can we? Life is made of a series of decision-makings and we spend most of our time waiting and waiting for those decisions to be made. C'est la vie!
2. I want a job that allows me to have time for myself during weekends (instead of bringing work home, argh terrible) even during weekdays with no over time (have the time to invest on my own education) and I can still earn decent bucks to pay the bill and loan.
The reality
I'm living this expectation now. No over time, very laid-back company culture, helpful colleagues, cool boss, great location, vball every Tuesday, time to take courses on Friday and Saturday, lazy Sunday and with decent bucks (surviving). I really couldn't ask for more. I am grateful.
However, sometimes a part of me *blame it on my ambitious idea of becoming a professional expert in the field I love with excellent $$$* can't help but wonder if I am in this too long, will I be too comfortable to take that leap of faith? (refer to my next post).
3. I want a job that allows me to play up to my strengths
The reality
I am playing up to my strengths now and I'm grateful. Using my degree to get the job, staying true with my basic traits (see here and here). Though I couldn't say that I'm a very good engineer, I'll always give my best at work. I won't know what the future holds for my worklife, but somehow I know that I couldn't see myself as a professional engineer for many years to come. I'd bear with this situation first and prepare for a career plan B while investing for my education and improving my skills (see point 4)
2) Financial
I won't have a concrete plan to share with you for this but I know that I have taken care of this aspect *had crunched the numbers with my financial planner since last year*. If I'm discipline with my savings, live within my means and able to keep a job, I'd expect to payback all my student loans in three years. I could also use small bits for my education along the way. I believe that learning is forever and it's not all about the end results. The journey matters more. Knowing that by constantly challenging myself with courses outside would give me self-satisfaction, I'll feel more alive and excited everyday. As for owning a house or a car, it's out of my current expectation, at least not for the next 5 years.
3) Relationships
I'd like to have my relationship with my family and friends to run smoothly by maintaining direct communications (calls, messages, meetings), having gatherings once in a while and sharing our experience frequently. Currently, I have free weekends to nurture these. As of that significant other whom I haven't found yet, it's simple. I'll be blown away by a nice gentleman who shares bits of my hobbies, who is appreciative towards my thinking, who respects everyone (w/o exception) and most importantly who loves me a lil' bit more than I do. No more nonsensical one-sided crushes that waste my youth.
4) Other skills
Transferable skills are the one that I'm aiming for. For me, self-satisfaction can come from knowing that I have the resources to learn new skill everyday, like: improving my language ability, cooking, communication skill, and all the other skills that can bring me a step closer to my goals, to my next career move (see point 1) or even to a more exciting life.
5) Spiritual
I am training my mind to think positively each day. By doing so, I can focus more on the good things in life, achieve a peace of mind and eventually become a constantly happy person. Happiness is a choice and what you think in your mind has a direct impact to how you view yourself and the world, how you want to live your life, being happy or miserable, it's a choice. Surrounding yourself with positive-optimistic-happy people or reading inspiring articles will help to feed your mind and spirit with positive energy. Let's make this a habit, shall we?
Voila, c'est tout, my definition of self-satisfaction. How about you?
Cheers,
Sien
Check it out, food for thought --> http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/11/14/dont-get-too-comfortable-after-work/
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