What is contentment? What is purpose?

Defining the term is important here. This definition is from the Reader’s Digest Oxford dictionary. 

Purpose – the reason for which something is done or made

To clarify purpose first, I believe our first purpose is to love and glorify God. The second is to love and serve others. Use your God-given gifts and talents to move forward. If this is not your belief, that’s fine. What is the belief that keeps you grounded? What anchors your purpose?

Contentment – a satisfied state; tranquil happiness. 

What does it take to make you happy? What does it take to satisfy you? The craving for more is becoming a disease that eats away at your well-being. The current culture is all about the next best thing. Deriving contentment and joy from what you do is no longer acceptable. Receiving accolades, validation, and success status has become more important than what you do.

As an advocate for personal development and getting better at what you do, I ask, “What is your end goal?” What result are you seeking? If one life is improved by what I do, it is rewarding. I believe that God has given each of us specific talents and gifts. Every individual will not reach every individual. Each individual can reach the next individual. 

What is the purpose of what you do? Are you talented or gifted? In either case, do you lose track of time when you do what you do? Are you at peace when you do what you do? Do you want to bless others? See them happy when you share what you do?

There is such misdirection with being unique. Everyone was created unique. There will never be another you. It took me so long to accept who I was, to appreciate my choices and what moved me. I share common threads with others, but I am still unique. 

I love writing and will continue to do so. I may not become the next New York Times best-selling novelist. However, if one life is improved because of what they read here, I made a difference. Most of us have heard of the one-hit wonders. Some songs were instrumental “for such a time as this.” The enjoyment and fulfillment of making a difference has become about the numbers. The value of what you do is lost somewhere between fortune and fame.

Is there anything wrong with wanting more? I ask for responses from my readers. Someone help me to understand where the balance is. Am I being too stringent? Have we become a people that cannot fathom a life of peace and joy?

Be blessed.