Embracing Growth with Contentment: The Key to Lasting Happiness

One evening I am watching a podcast. It is 8:00 pm. It has been a busy tedious day. I have different genre of videos on my smart phone but I push myself to watch this podcast about film directing. I am trying so hard to concentrate. I am struggling between closing my eyes and sitting. Infact, I comfort myself to watch it on landscape mode as I lean on the bed.(the worst lie)

A call wakes me at 9:00pm.I slept long ago and left my podcast still playing. “Ah!sitajiua!” I tell myself as I open Episode 8, Season 1 of my favorite series. I resume where I left two weeks ago. On seeing this, my eyes brighten, energy levels rise and sleep excuses me. Time flies and I realize I have to force myself to sleep since it’s already 10:00pm.

As I sleep, I can’t stop thinking. Have you ever tried to fool your brain to sleep especially when you are overthinking  but it literally refuses? That’s me this night. I can’t sleep. I can’t stop thinking of how we continually toil, suffer and injure our brain through endless discontent even after acquiring some of the things we need.

Contentment is very important. It is one of the aspects of growth yet many are unaware. The moment you start being happy with who you are, where you, the steps you are making no matter how small they seem, then growth smiles at you. Of course, this doesn’t mean you can be content if you’re engaging in negative behavior or staying stagnant-it’s about finding peace while striving to improve.

Picture this, You promise yourself a one hour movie after completing 20 pages of your favorite book everyday. Then dedicate one week for that book. Will that not be a milestone?

I’ve come to realize that we relentlessly chase after things, often to the point where happiness slips away. We suffocate it, depriving it of the space it needs to thrive. Instead of nurturing it, we end up killing it. How tragic is that?

We push ourselves to the limit, determined to conquer this week, relentlessly going on until we burn out. Then next week, we set even higher expectations, aiming to double what we achieved before. In doing so, we may forget contentment. We forget that the place we’re in now is exactly where we once prayed to be. And so, we end up chasing after something that always seems out of reach.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t strive for better, but we should do so in contentment

That night, I remembered a conversation with a friend who had everything she once dreamed of, yet still felt unfulfilled. Her words stuck with me: “I’m always looking ahead, forgetting to appreciate how far I’ve come.” It hit me-contentment isn’t about constantly chasing more. It’s about pausing to recognize how much we’ve already achieved and finding peace in the present.

Growth doesn’t have to be a relentless pursuit; sometimes, it’s about appreciating the journey and allowing ourselves to rest. When we do, happiness naturally follows.