Satisfaction: What If You Want More?

It is fine to want more but you need to know when you have enough to get a taste of satisfaction.

People have the natural tendency to want more – more money, more material possessions, more accomplishments, and more power. Having more seems to be the way to success and happiness. Satisfaction, the fulfillment or gratification of a desire, is almost always just a fleeting state of being. As Mark Twain pointed out: “Any so-called material thing that you want is merely a symbol: you want it not for itself, but because it will content your spirit for the moment.”

In 1965, Mick Jagger complained through a song that “I can't get no satisfaction 'cause I try and I try and I try and I try.” Many people must have related to this song that it became very popular. There is just too much in this world to want. What if you want more? Well, why not? There is an abundance of good things in life. Life is a party with so many people, lots of all sorts of food, and a wide range of activities. But, life is not long enough to have as much as we want. Life is a party to be enjoyed. What if you want more? Is wanting more a desire that you understand? Why do you want more? For what? For whom? Any pursuit that we do not care to know and understand cannot make us truly fulfilled and happy. According to C.S. Lewis, “What does not satisfy when we find it, was not the thing we were desiring.” As we exert all our energy and spend all our time to have more, what is left of our energy and time to live and enjoy our life? You try and you try to have more getting no satisfaction because you miss out on enjoying the present. Seneca recommended: “Do the best you can . . . enjoy the present . . . rest satisfied with what you have.” We rest satisfied with what we have at the moment. We take action to have more of the good things in life while maintaining a sense of satisfaction that we have enough to get it.

Imagine the path of life as a maze with an abundance of all sorts of things that we can gather from all around. We need to make a choice. We just cannot have them all. We cannot let our impulses and whims lead us in life's maze. We need to direct ourselves based on what we truly value. As we take more of the nice-to-have stuff, we may be trading it off with prized ones. We need to want more of only those things that will provide as the means to have what is of ultimate value to us. What if you fancied becoming the richest person in the world? What if spending your time and energy in having more and more money will cost you becoming the best parent? What if you greatly value your family but you became sidetracked by wanting more of the things that you don't truly need?

What if you want more? You need to know when you have enough to get a taste of satisfaction.