The Key To Contentment.

We always search and strive for happiness but that is only a dopamine rush and not a lasting feeling. You may have experienced most of the times that you are happy and everything in life is okay but then you find yourself being sad over nothing, right? It is because we can’t stay happy always, we have to feel sad even if there is nothing to be worried about. Now the real thing is “THE CONTENTMENT” which is a lasting feeling and basically its contentment that our soul looks for always. Contentment is being happy and satisfied with what you already have. Thus, what I’ve discovered to be the secrets of contentment and setting your empty heart at ease are discussed below.

Do what is in Your Capacity.

You know what matters? What matters is actually doing what is in your capacity. How can you expect yourself to do something you aren’t capable of? And how come you expect yourself to do less than you are capable of and sitting guilt free?

Let me tell you a story , a story which is not fabricated, but a true story, a story from ‘The Quraan’. The story of a little sparrow. When Ibrahim(A.S) was ordered to put in the fire created by Namrood for refusing to worship the idols, the small sparrow hoped to put out the fire by filling her beak with water and then emptying it into the flames. The other sparrow questioned how so little water could put out the entire fire. The sparrow replied that it may not put out the whole fire but it may have my contribution to put out, I am doing what is in my capacity. It’s better than sitting out and thinking what difference it can make to the bigger subject but remember I’ll be satisfied, my heart will be at ease, and the contentment I get is priceless by doing what I am capable of and leaving the rest in Allah’s hands. Also on the day of judgment when my Lord asks, I will be satisfied because I have done what was in my capacity and things are done by Allah always, we only try. Trying and doing what we can do and are capable of is our part, the outcome and the result are in Allah’s hands so what to worry for? Do your part and leave the rest in Allah’s hands and stay relaxed.

Eliminate Comparison From Your Life.

One secret to a contentful life is to eliminate all sort of comparisons from your life. Take a decision to never compare yourself to anyone and you will see the results and impacts on your life yourself.

The comparison makes finding contentment a million times harder.

It’s human nature to always see the greener side of one’s grass and then compare your greyer part of life with another’s greener part. Comparison is always a bad thing in every case. Like comparing yourself with someone less than you and feeling proud over it instead of helping out and comparing other’s good part of life with your bad part of life. Comparison kills, it kills all the positives, it kills peace, and happiness, and made you run in the race of ‘more’; and the race of more is always a pathway to destruction and damage to the soul.

If I, being sad see people happy I start comparing the bad part of my life with the good part of their life without even standing in their shoes. Problems are a part of everybody’s life not only yours. Whatever you are feeling it’s not only you, there will be definitely someone else going exactly through the same situation and feeling. Never compare your life with anyone’s life because that will give you only restlessness. If someone is happy in a situation where you are facing troubles or being sad they might have been through something you didn’t go through. Everbody shines when it’s their time. If they have something that you have wished for and didn’t get, so they definitely don’t have something they wished for and you have. Life is all about incomplete desires. There is one thing that can never be fulfilled completely, and that’s our desires, the more we get our desires fulfilled, the more empty and restless we feel. Because, life is not about getting Whatever we want but Life is all about feeling the beauty of unfulfilled desires and trying for it. The pleasure that ‘imperfect’ carries, is that ‘perfect’ lacks.

One wise man said: Comparison is the thief of joy.

Remember, your grass will never get greener by focusing on someone else’s lawn. And sometimes, you might compare your lawn against someone else’s without realizing that their grass isn’t even real. Refocus your energy on your blessings, goals, and growth.

Motivate yourself

One best pieces of advice that I consider is “NEVER RELY ON THE EXTERNAL BUT ON THE INTERNAL ALWAYS”. Means whatever aspect of life is always rely on internal factors likewise in motivation. All these sources like motivational blogs, podcasts, and videos, are just dopamine rush, they may motivate you for an hour or for a day but after that, you’ll feel the same or even worse so they can be an instant and temporary solution but not the actual solution. Real motivation comes from within as real contentment comes from within, no matter whatever problems your external environment carries. Rely on self-motivation that comes from within always.

The question is HOW? How to motivate your own self and how does self-motivation come? The reality-based answer according to me for this is that it comes with time. Some precious pearls of life like this, you get only with the passage of time and by experiencing difficulty just as you get diamond from coal by only making it go through a process of polishing.

Stop Worshiping Your Feelings

Stop Idolizing your feelings always. Be a master of your feelings and emotions and not a slave. I feel sometimes the major problem of us is that we fear our feelings. Feel it! feel your emotions to the fullest and don’t suppress them within because it would lead to a bigger disaster but don’t make your feelings your God that whatever you are feeling, legal or illegal, good or bad you just want it, want it to accomplish, want it to get fulfilled, this is where the problem resides. Have self-control. There are times when we are all emotional and our logical side of the brain goes to sleep so what you have to do is try not to make decisions in such times when you feel like you are being emotional and wait for the time when your logical side of the brain gets activated again. In simple words, Feel your emotions to the fullest but don’t worship them. The practical step for avoiding being an emotional fool is that whenever find yourself emotional or a bit heavy or overwhelmed just make sure you don’t make any decisions and don’t take any sort of actions particularly and you will see how life becomes easy and contented.

Stop Fearing.

Fear is nothing but a boundary or a cage in your imagination made by your own self. Most of the time we are afraid of ourselves. Stop worrying about what if this happens, what will I do if this or that happens, if this happen then what will I do next. Stop thinking like this and relax. Always have this mindset that whatever happens, happens for a reason and definitely for our betterment. If a situation you think has given you nothing but only pain, that pain has given you an unmatchable power, and strength of patience and has made you stronger. So kill your fears, what’s written to happen will happen if you fear it to death or not, just have the stamina to face anything.

Remember when God wants to protect you no one can harm you, even if the whole world is gathered to harm you and Allah wants to protect you, nobody can harm you about an inch. Similarly in every aspect, when Allah wants to give you and bless you whatever this world does or says you will be blessed. So, Stop worrying and fearing the unknown. Fear your Lord only and all the fears will be diminished itself.

Another story I want to quote here is taken from the most precious book “The Quraan” of Mosa (A.S) and Fir’oun. When ALLAH wanted to protect Moosa(A.S) and the fir’oun and his believers were against Moosa, Allah not only protected Mosa(A.S) but also given him dignity, and blessed him with the best in every aspect.It was the time when Moosa (A.S) had given the dawah to fir’oun and he rejected and tried to harm Moosa(A.S), then Allah created a way in the ocean for Moosa and drowned fir’oun in the same ocean. So stop worrying and fearing, just be righteous and there is nothing to be afraid of then. Free yourself from the cage of fears.

Learn from your mistakes.

It’s mistakes that make us human beings. If we don’t make mistakes then what would be the difference between angles and us? Making mistakes is okay but making the same mistake again and again is where the problem resides and the solution to that is learning from your mistakes. The lessons that mistakes make us teach are unmatchable ones, that no teacher at your university or school can teach. Mistakes are your teachers so don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Mistakes are an opportunity to grow.

DON’T CARRY YOUR MISTAKES WITH YOU. INSTEAD, PLACE THEM UNDER YOUR FEET AND USE THEM AS STEPPING STONES TO RISE ABOVE THEM.

When you make a mistake just remember three things to do:

1. Admit it.
2. Learn from it.
3. Don’t repeat it.

Forget the mistake remember the lesson.

Just as in a car, there is a mirror with a rear view from which we look back, if we don’t look at that, an accident will occur, likewise in our life, when we don’t look back at our past experiences and deny to learn from it we fall, we get accidents so it’s important to look at the rear view mirror of life and avoid accidents.

Grow through what you go through.

It is a journey from wanting happiness to seeking contentment.

Hey there for more visit my very own website www.imhakhan.com