The Little book of Contentment by Leo Babauta

The Root of the Problem Almost every kind of problem we have has discontent with ourselves (and our lives) as its root.

I'll repeat that for emphasis: All of our problems stem from discontent.

Let's take a look at a variety of examples: 1. Addicted to food: Food gives you temporary happiness, you seek happiness from external sources because you aren't happy with yourself. The pleasure from food is temporary, making you a bit depressed that you ate so much junk, making you unhappier, causing you to seek comfort from the food.

2. Addicted to cigarettes, drugs, pills, alcohol: Same reason as food addiction, same cycle.

3. Addicted to the Internet, video games, porn: See above.

4. Debt and clutter: You buy things as a source of external happiness (see above), and are afraid of what will happen if you let go of those things. This is a lack of confidence that you'll be OK with nothing but yourself.