Never Satisfied

There are two kinds of never satisfied. One kind is positive and the other one is negative.

It is theorized that it takes 10,000 hours to master something. If you worked 8 hours a day, 5 days a week it would take 5 years to reach that level of proficiency. To have that kind of dedication, one would have to be never satisfied at being mediocre in order to continue training to reach the pinnacle of their ambition.

This is the positive kind of never satisfied. The drive to succeed, the passion for a dream or goal that consumes you to the point that only perfection of your vision can appease this discontent.

Imagine a Olympic runner training for the next summer games. He is never satisfied with his race time. He is always striving to shave even 1/10th of a second off his time in order to reach his potential best. He will analyze the mechanics of his running style, he will optimize his diet, cross train to maximize all his muscle groups all so he can make his dream of making it to the podium and winning a medal. His passion for his dream is the catalyst for never being satisfied with anything but gold.

This kind of never satisfied is great, unless, when one reaches their goal they are still not satisfied.

There is a slippery slope between passion and drive and jealousy and denial. That is where the negative kind of never satisfied lives.

This cynical approach can leave a person bitter to life. If one is always comparing their life, their possessions or their talents with others, they will never be satisfied. Being jealous of others is a form of denial because instead of seeing others success as an example to aspire too, the dis-satisfied person will only make excuses, blame life circumstances or accuse others for their lot in life. Being aware of the choices you make in your life and taking responsibility for them goes a long way to becoming a satisfied person.

Becoming Satisfied

I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet.

Unknown

There will always be someone better off than you and there will always be someone worse off than you. The key to being satisfied in life is to live in gratitude for where you are right now.

• Start everyday in thanks for the fact that you have another day on this earth. A day that is full of possibilities.
• Marvel at the beauty of your surroundings. Even in the most dire of living situations grace can be found.
• Cultivate empathy for others. It’s really not all about you. Sharing other’s experiences broadens your own perspective of life.
• Give…. of your time, your talents, your love. The more that you give the more that comes back to you but not always in the way you might expect.
• Choose wisely. Your day to day choices determine your future. Bad choices, bad life. Good choices, good life.
• End each day with thanks. think of at least three things that brought you gratitude today.

When you practice gratitude on a daily basis, you will begin to calm the gloomy thoughts that create the negative never satisfied and then maybe you can get back to the positive never satisfied. The one that fuels goals and dreams and the mastery of striving for excellence.