My mind was swarming with negative thoughts as we drove to church a few weeks ago. I wish I had more time to get things done. I wish my infant would nap for longer stretches. I wish my husband would help out a little more around the house. Though these thoughts were about different things, they were all rooted in discontent.
Like many of you, I have gratitude on my mind because we are so close to Thanksgiving. As I thought about gratitude and discontentedness during the service, I realized how slyly discontentedness sneaks into our lives and how it is often what keeps us from feeling grateful.
This realization started me on a mission to nip discontentedness in the bud. I don’t want this seemingly innocuous feeling to keep me from living the rich, gratitude-filled life to which God has called us (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Here’s what I’m doing to put an end to discontentedness so gratitude can bloom in my life.
How I’m nipping discontentedness in the bud
- Serving others. Whether it’s serving with my time, skills, or money, I find I am more content when I serve. This is in part due to the fact that serving helps me see who God made me to be and what He gave me to offer others. It’s also because it helps me take my eyes off of myself and focus on the people around me.
- Praying and reading the Bible. A lot of times I don’t even realize when I’m feeling discontent—it happens often enough that it just doesn’t stand out to me. Encountering God through prayer and Bible reading helps me become more sensitive to my areas of weakness. Consequently, it is critical that I make time in my day for these activities so I’m able to quickly recognize feelings of discontent and take actions to eliminate them.
- Fostering gratitude. Thinking about the many things for which I am grateful helps me remember that I am too blessed to be discontent. I’m finding it is best to be intentional about being grateful. These approaches to cultivating thankfulness and these gratitude activities have been very helpful!
- Discouraging complaining among my friends. We often express our discontentedness through complaining. More often than not, this complaining is a social activity (e.g., we sit around with friends complaining about whatever it is that is bothering us, we post our gripes on social media). I’m trying to avoid joining in this complaining so I don’t perpetuate it. Also, I’m trying to gently encourage gratitude by pointing out the good in situations when my friends complain.
- Putting the “perfect” things I see in the lives of others in perspective. There’s nothing like a glance at Facebook or a conversation with friends to get me feeling discontent. After seeing beautiful family portraits, photos of amazing crafts, and hearing about a friend’s brand new vehicle, I often start feeling discontent about my family photos, my craft skills, and my car. It helps me to put these things into perspective. The quality of our portraits isn’t as important as the quality of our family. How much ability I have (related to crafts or anything else) isn’t as important as how I use it. New vehicles come with hefty price tags and sticking with my older car helps us move towards our goal of debt-free living.
- Enjoying the present moment. I realized some time ago that I tend to be more content when I enjoy the present moment instead of being preoccupied with what happened recently or what is happening next. Whether I’m enjoying the rich cup of coffee in my hands or the sound of my daughters’ laughter, I don’t have time to feel discontent when I’m enjoying the wonderful things I have.
Do you ever find yourself feeling discontent? What things do you do to replace these feelings with contentment and gratitude?
Shared at the following:
Coffee and Conversation, Monday’s Musings, Making Your Home Sing, Living Proverbs 31, and The Art of Home-Making.
These are all awesome ideas! One of the big ways that I’ve been learning to deal with the occasional discontent is my husband’s bluntness. Often, if I start complaining about something, he’ll say something like “So what are you going to do about it?” This has helped me see that if I’m really discontent about something, I should look for ways to positively change my attitude and/or the issue at hand. Like if I’m discontent about the state of the apartment, instead of whining about it, I can-and should-proactively clean it with my husband’s help.
That sounds helpful, AnneMarie. I do often find myself wallowing in the discontent instead of taking action. I think I could use an occasional dose of bluntness!
Being in the moment has been an area where God has spoken. Reminding myself to be in the moment helps you from drifting off to “What if” land. Thank you for the other suggestions to nipping in the bud.
Hi Sheryl,
Those “what ifs” cause a lot of problems! I really benefit from being in the moment, too.
Great pointers! In my research for my post this week, I learned that expressing gratitude can actually, scientifically help you overcome a bad attitude. God created our brains to be so powerful! Blessings!
That’s amazing, Liz. All the more reason to make concerted efforts to express gratitude!
These are all terrific! Being in the Word, and grooming an attitude of gratitude are my best 2 ways to nip it in the bud.
Living Prov 31