The Little book of Contentment by Leo Babauta

The Path of Contentment We start out in life thinking that we’re awesome. We can dance in public as 5-year-olds and not care what others think of us. By the time we’re adults, that’s been driven out of us, by peers and parents, and the media and embarrassing situations.

As adults, we doubt ourselves. We judge ourselves badly. We are critical of our bodies, of ourselves as people, of our lack of discipline, of all our faults. We don’t like our lives.

As a result, we try to improve this lacking self, try to get better because we suck so much. Or we doubt our ability to get better and are unhappy about that. Or we sabotage our attempts at change because we don’t really believe we can do it.

This self-dislike results in worse relationships, a stagnant career, unhappiness with life, complaints about everything, and often unhealthy habits, such as eating junk food, drinking too much alcohol, not exercising, shopping too much, being addicted to video games or the Internet.

So what’s the path to being content with yourself and your life?