Whew. This is a late one, but I wanted to get a couple thoughts down. I’ve been trying to foster contentment in my life lately as a form of mindfulness. I think a lot of people mistake fostering contentment with giving up and a general disassociation with achievement, an outlook fraught with fallacies about the practice. For today’s Monday Motivation, I’m just going to free write about my thoughts, struggles, and findings regarding contentment.

It’s been a tough one for me, to be honest. It is a constant practice that demands steady humility and reflection, and I often slip. Like many, I have struggled with a fame complex in the past, dreaming of glory through creative efforts like writing, music, content creation, etc. I don’t think these thoughts are bad to have in small amounts, but the intangible glory itself is addictive. I’ve daydreamed myself into a stupor of bullshit lacking discernable talent in many regards, and it has taken a great deal of mindfulness and failure to get things back on track.

When we dream of fame — which I will boil down to its greater root, glory — we imagine an illusory self, usually with an imaginary crown of some clout, or a considerable amount of money. We imagine this version of ourselves to be without problems or debts, with perfect Hollywood romances and bodies like the Grecian Pantheon. But you would still be a person with choices and commitments, and your problems would evolve. Seeking this glory, in the end, is hollow when for the sake of glory itself. Consider glory only lightly but find contentment with your artistry or craft.

Take my example: I will write books, possibly television shows, and run a funny, low stakes Dungeons and Dragons podcast. When I focus on the possible externalities of extreme success, I become distracted from the craft of things. I focus on metrics more than meter, I download Tik Tok with half-baked marketing enthusiasm, I become disillusioned with the work. I spend more time making plans than I do in the minutiae of the creative work. When we focus on glory, we lose the soul of purpose, or we become hollow in the pursuit of attention.

Practicing contentment would have us say this instead: I am enough as I am. I am a unique individual living a unique experience, and I am capable of whatever I can dream through diligence and sacrifice. Contentedness isn’t a placid surrender or an apathetic pass, but an exercise in thankfulness and a rewiring of the mind. It helps us realize that life, in large part, is traded in how we value our time. Work. If we can find contentment in our work, whatever it may be for each of us, everything seems to fall into place and our job enjoyment skyrockets. And we get better at what we do because we actually like doing it.

And if you struggle to find it, maybe it means you need change paths. Should we not enjoy what we do? Should we not enjoy what little time we have on this earth doing something we like? Something of meaning? And if you can help one person, reach one person online, make somebody laugh, doesn’t that make your day a little better? Practicing contentment gets us out of the selfish mindset of fame and fortune, and grounds us in the day-to-day reality of what we do. A sculptor must sculpt, a writer must write. No one gains recognition anyways for dreaming of sculpting.

I think that’s enough for tonight. I hope you have a fabulous week and a better weekend. Try a new recipe maybe or take some time for yourself to just sit with your thoughts.

Stay crunchy,

Schaboi Kbat