Throughout human history people pretty much boil down to having one of two distinct strategies in life: the desire to have enough or the desire to have more.
Both require you first to survive, that is the universal and base strategy in life.
For me, contentment comes from having enough. The enough strategy is internally focused. It is not concerned with external contingencies which are beyond your control, such as your earnings or professional title.
Instead it is unconditional wholeness which accepts all emotions including anger and grief, and allows you to feel complete with no desires beyond yourself.
The more strategy is most common and fundamentally flawed. The individual has desires and in acquiring a desire, wants more of it. For instance, a person wants to make a certain amount of money, and once the goal is achieved, they then want more. They always want more, because circumstances change and the amount they thought they wanted is no longer sufficient, so they want more.
This approach is unsustainable because enough is never enough for those practicing the more strategy.
Does this mean you give up all material desires? No. It does require you to more carefully consider what you want and what makes you content.
A coach can help you better understand these differences and in doing so you can best manage expectations and anxiety that arises from pursuing unachievable goals.
Resilient Seeker Coaching | Ross Raymond Nunamaker 