“People are a lot like my chickens,” Dr. Amos explained to our consumer behavior class. Dr. Amos stopped to tell our class how he took time to carefully build a spacious chicken coop. His chickens were happy and loved their home until the day that Dr. Amos’ wife let them out of the chicken coop. They loved roaming the open yard. After being put back in the coop, the chickens were never satisfied again.
I saw the same concept with cows on my Mission to West Virginia. We helped a man named John Newsom with his Black Angus cattle regularly. They had plenty of good hay and grass within the boundaries of their electric fence, but they always thought the grass was greener on the other side. One day they escaped and John spent an entire day tracking them down (I'm pretty sure that may have happened a couple of times now actually).
I saw the same concept with cows on my Mission to West Virginia. We helped a man named John Newsom with his Black Angus cattle regularly. They had plenty of good hay and grass within the boundaries of their electric fence, but they always thought the grass was greener on the other side. One day they escaped and John spent an entire day tracking them down (I'm pretty sure that may have happened a couple of times now actually).
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| Photo: This photo is taken from BlueRoosterFarm.com. |
I believe we all have a natural tendency towards dissatisfaction. We easily become unhappy with what we have and gravitate towards greed. Many rightfully argue that it’s not always a bad thing. If we were never dissatisfied, we would not have identified a need for modern technology—we would have never seen a need. I would not strive to be better if I was perfectly satisfied with myself all the time. However, dissatisfaction, more often than not, can rear an ugly side: it can lead to depression and a constant thirsting for that which will never quench our thirst.
I believe the key to a happy life is learning to be content with our current state. It does not mean we cannot strive to be and do more; however, we should learn to overcome greed and pride.
One of the biggest things that has helped me find satisfaction is keeping a gratitude journal. I actually just try to write one thing down that I'm grateful for every day. My wife and I usually share what we are grateful for with each other as well.
Other things that I believe help me to overcome my tendencies to be dissatisfied (things that I am still trying to work on and overcome) include not comparing, not competing with others (especially on Facebook), living within my means, and humbly thanking God for my blessings every day as well.
This is song about gratitude that I love to listen to
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