The Difference Between Always Seeking To Improve Yourself And Not Being Satisfied With What You Have

Are you satisfied with your lot in life, with your career, income level and all that you have? Or are you currently still in the process of working to improve yourself and your place in life? The question you need to ask yourself is this. “Do I need improvement in my life situation, or am I just not satisfied with what I have?”

Chase Blosser | Chasing Thoughts And View Points

What Motivates You? steps

In today’s world and society, we have the common problem of people increasingly not being satisfied with what they have and always seeking to improve upon their lot in life. In the process of doing so, I believe that we all confuse our efforts to increase what we have with real efforts of improvement. That is our efforts to always seek to improve ourselves have become mixed in with efforts to increase wealth and the ownership of stuff.

This mixing of always seeking improvement with seeking greater wealth and not ever being satisfied with what one has in life is a huge mistake and at the very root of being part of the problems facing us in today’s world. To always seek to improve one’s place in life and to believe that one’s self always has room for improvement should never be confused and mix. They are two totally different concepts!

The first is seeking at its most basic level only to secure one’s living and living standards while they live in this world. The second is the belief that no matter one’s skill set, knowledge, or “where one is in life” that there is always “room for improvement.” It is also the belief that not only is the always room for improvement in one’s self and life but that we all should seek to improve ourselves and reach our full potential.

Chase Blosser | Chasing Thoughts And View Points

Dream Job word cloud on blackboard

Chase Blosser | Chasing Thoughts And View Points

The problem is that the two concepts are repeatedly confused and taken as one. People tend to conflate the need to always improve one’s self with how well they are doing in life as far as their careers/jobs and how much money they make or how much “stuff” they own. This tends to lead to unsatisfied lives because when we combine our seeking to improve our place in life with improving ourselves, we create in ourselves a constant need for “more and more.” We also stop seeking improvement in our selves/lives and instead seek the unattainable perfection.

Chase Blosser | Chasing Thoughts And View Points

Progress, not perfection – white chalk text blackboard – fitness and healthy lifestyle concept

We then in our constant pursuit to try and satisfy ourselves and our need for more become ever busy and on the move with no time to enjoy life and the simple things. However, when the two concepts are separated and in their proper places. When our seeking to improve and secure our place in life is just that and separate from our need always to try to improve upon ourselves which is just that, our lives and society in general moves along a whole lot smoother. It can be argued I believe that the concept and problem of “greed” is largely the result of the combination of the two concepts. When they are separate, we are more able to be satisfied with what we have in life and our place in it. Oh, we will still seek improvement both in ourselves and in our careers and such, but there is no longer “that urgency” to it all.

What are your thoughts and viewpoints on the matter? All opinions are welcomed and wanted. 

 

 

Good Habits And Bad Habits; How To Tell The Difference and Why They Matter​?

Habit – a settled tendency or usual manner of behavior, an acquired mode of behavior that has become nearly or completely involuntary

What are your ; what are your habits? Do you know which are which? We all have patterns, some like brushing our teeth, taking a shower once or twice a day in mornings evening, or even what times of day we have our meals. All of these are examples of habits that we may perform day in and day out without much though if any put into doing them. We also tend develop both useful and bad habits; yet do we which is which?

Good habits are those small repetitive things that we regularly do over time and don’t pay attention to our doing of them. lead to good results and longterm behaviors over time, such as brushing one’s teeth every day in morning and at night before going to bed, which helps protect us from getting cavities and losing our teeth. Or working out at the gym or going for a jog every day in the morning not only helps us stay in shape but allows us to start our day off on a high note with momentum for the rest of the day.

Bad habits on the other hand, as the name suggests, are just the opposite and are those small repetitive things that we do on a regular basis without much thought. They lead us down a spiraling path of self-destruction that negatively impacts our lives and sometimes even those around us. A perfect example of a nasty and destructive habit is smoking. Now I am not talking about the casual smoker of Sugars or even cigarettes that only smokes every so often and rarely at that, no what I am talking about is the one or two pack of cigarettes a day habit (i.e., addiction).

The one or two pack a day habit is the perfect example of a bad habit that starts as a small thing done regularly over time but then adds up and spirals out of control into self-destruction. We already know about the long-term health consequences to lifetime smokers, but it is a lot more than just that. Smoking a pack or two a day is a costly ($) habit. The average cost of a pack of cigarettes is $5.51 with the most expensive being $12.85. Let’s see; there are 365 days in a year, 365 x 5.51 = $2011.15 for one year worth of smoking on a pack a day at the cheapest cost on average.

According to the CDC about 25.3% of adults who live below the poverty line smoke. Think about that right there, the destructive habit of smoking could (and most likely does) very well be attributing to poverty in the United States. You take out that habit and bingo that is (if your addiction was the one pack a day) automatically $2011.15 in yearly savings. That can go a long way of improving ones financel lot in life.

Learning to save your money and spend wisely is the actual key to getting more wealth. If you look at almost any financially well-off/rich person/people throughout history and in today’s world, I guarantee that has played and continues to play a significant role in their wealth management. Wisely saving and managing one’s money is an excellent example of a good habit that leads to positive results.

So, good habits are those little things done regularly over time that leads to positive results in one’s life. Bad habits are just the opposite leading to negative consequences for the individual and in the case of smoking society as well.  Makes you think does it not; on just what small habits you and I may have that are either leading us to succeed in life or down a destructive path does it not? Darren Hardy in his book “The Compound Effect does an outstanding job of further exploring this very topic and showing how we can better manage our habits.

So what are your thoughts and viewpoints on this ? What are your good and bad habits? Please do share them, all are welcomed and wanted!