A truth about me is that I’m very good at compartmentalizing and working toward goals. Even though I can experience stress very deeply at times, if I have a goal I go at it with strength and conviction. Fortunately, I find that if I can get through a particularly stressful moment, the feeling passes and contentment with many aspects of a given situation can settle in. This mindset is helping me to maintain the current lifestyle that I’ve crafted. 

Do you feel content with your current life? Whether everything at work and home is peaceful, or you are intensely working to achieve your goals, reaching that feeling of contentment will help keep you going and live your own life as you want it to be. Here are some ideas that will help get to this place:

Have a concrete, ideally written goal. This process helps to clarify your thoughts and serves as a reminder of where you’d like to be heading. 

Look around at what you have. House? Utilities turned on? Food readily accessible? If the basics are covered, we’re well on our way. Now think back to how you lived 5 or 10 years ago. Chances are, you were once in a dorm, sharing a basic apartment with roommates, or living at home as a young adult. Maybe you’re still in that situation. As part of a bigger goal, a simple lifestyle can be enough. If you are hoping to upgrade, are you fully prepared for it or is there an unnecessary rush? 

What do you really need to feel good about your current life? Maybe it’s quality with family, being a social butterfly, hitting the gym, or looking at art. Regularly engaging in these activities will help to maintain contentment. If it’s difficult to balance personal pursuits with family or other obligations, combining efforts can be helpful.

Look for ways to decrease stress too. As much as we may love our opportunity to help others and solve complex problems, a clinical job can be stressful. Finding ways to balance is good for everyone, whether for you that means doing something active and physical, or having some low key relaxing. 

Have you approached each of these tasks?