Topic: The thin line between contentment & living below potential, Patience & wasting t - page 2. (Read 504 times)

In life today, it doesn't matter if you're at the top or not but as long as you're content, there's no pressure at all needed to be made by you.

You live for a day and you don't have to exert that much effort then that's good enough. Many chooses to be free these days and that's making everyone avoid the path of the corporate world.

Whether they do more or not, as long as they're living their lives comfortably, that's what making sense nowadays.

Some people are satisfied with less and some are not , some are not contended even they have much wealth these are cases that we come across in everyday routine . But if you have financial troubles and you are living below potential but still you are not doing anything to improve that than you are wrong . You should always try to improve yourself .

I can't really relate to this, as most of the people around me are very greedy with money or with business; they will try everything to earn profit, but they will still say that they don't have money even though they have multiple businesses. Even for myself, I will not be satisfied as long as I see that pile of cash or gold in my vault, and I really don't want to waste time, so every moment counts. Though if you are really content right now for whatever reason, then it's on the person, as all people are not the same.

It's their choice if they plan not to do more, respect them for that, some people are religion fanatics and they believe that no matter what you acquired you will leave it behind one day, but most times it's like they are telling me to live a miserable life and behind, these same people are working hard, I think the reason why they are advicing others that nothing is worth it in life is because they can't live seeing others doing well than them, yeah some people are this wicked in this world.

Everyone wants the best of the best but they don't want others to get the best of the best, some are categorized as envy and some are jealousy, if you feel contented with your present state do not change the mind of others or try to pull them down.

What happens is that our time is limited, so many people immediately recognize that if they want to achieve a higher level of success then they will have to use even a greater amount of their limited time to try to reach that success, now if the success was guaranteed then we will see a lot of people doing this, but since this is not the case then many people simply prefer to abandon the idea of reaching a greater financial success and prefer to enjoy what they have achieved already with their loved ones.

Many people are satisfied with what they have got even though we often find in chatting with friends they want to get more. But they don't want to do anything else to be able to get better financially by getting more income. They can earn more income even if they want to do even better.

The financial satisfaction of a successful person does not depend on what he produces because it is relative. Those who receive less feel it is enough for them, so they do not want to try to find more.

And if you are doing business, you must have a well-thought-out plan to run the business according to the plan and achieve the goals you want so that it doesn't waste time, effort and money on promotion.

You are absolutely right; contentment can be described in a lot of ways. I know I am not wrong with what I said about it earlier, though. But all the explanation is just to clarify the OP's point that contentment doesn't make one settle for less; settling for less is always based on a decision. OP said that he has seen people who have settled for less, which means that they should have done better than they are now, but due to contentment, they have settled for less. All that is based on self-decisions; it could still be that they are content with the one they have already and don't want to do more to get more.

For example, there are people who have a lot of money, cars, and houses, but when they see their fellow mates who have a lot more, they can begin to envy the person and want to do anything to be better than the person, even if it takes them to do something illegal. At that point, what can only make the person not get so envious of their fellow is to be content with what they have already and still work hard to meet up like their friend has.

Read the OP below.

Living a life of fear of what others may think can only rob you of happiness and contentment. In fact, we could be happy and yet put in a lot of effort. For me, it is okay to feel content as long as we are living well and can provide for our family's needs, but there is no issue with working harder to accomplish more.
Considering what others may think will only have a negative impact on our life and may even distract us from concentrating on our objectives. If others are successful, it doesn't always follow that we aren't in our own right. We may take different paths in life, but we may also find different forms of contentment.

I think that if everything is in order with your business and finances, then you do not have to prove anything to anyone. It is very difficult to find a certain balance, because it is constantly changing. There will be successful people around you who are richer, but this does not mean that they are happier than you. When I was young, I did not think about such things, and tried to earn money in different ways to look successful. Right now I don't care about other people's opinions.

Though depending on the context that I will be looking at it contentment is quite different from living below potential. For instance, I am a banker, got my house and my car, contentment will make me do what my finances are capable of, if my salary is worth buying a bungalow and a Toyota Camry I get and I stayed with that until I'm buoyant enough to get better option and living below potential is me living below my Salary I know I can afford it but I won't because I want to be frugal with spending. Secondly. for you to know that you are not wasting your time in business if, after a year in that business, you can boldly account for profit otherwise, you are wasting your time.

There are certain things with which one can be content. When you talk about material things, one actually needs to be content with what he or she has acquired in life, especially when what the person has acquired is equal to his or her financial status.

But in cases of being content with finance and wealth, there is also a level to which one should acquire his desired wealth and can boldly say that they are content with what they have actually acquired. For people like that, all they desire in life is to live a comfortable life, be able to take care of all the family's needs, have a home of their own, have private cars, and have other essential things that a family will need for them to be happy. All they need is to keep their business going and make sure that there is a steady flow of income, which will make sure that there is a steady flow of income, which will make the family not to lack in their life again. People like that are okay, and I don't think there is any point in advising them to go further than that when that's all they ever want for themselves. I also don't consider that being lazy; it's a way of telling nature that you are okay with what you have.

On the other hand, we humans always have that desire to have more; when we acquire a new position in life today, we will want a higher one tomorrow. Our fashion house of 10 years ago is now outdated and, as such, will need renovation, cars, etc. These are things that motivate people to not just be stable at a particular financial income but to keep on hustling to climb higher and achieve more things in life. Some people call it greed, but it's not greed; it's just the world we find ourselves in. A world where even the richest person is not satisfied by the level of wealth that he or she has acquired. So long as we keep on living, we should also keep on making money..

Well financial contentment is the state of being satisfied with one's current financial situation, without having the desire to improve it further. It is important to know that financial contentment is subjective and differentiate from different persons. For us to know if we are wasting our time in doing a business we need to evaluate our progress towards our goals and objectives. To have a clear plan we need to track our progress regularly. Seeking feedback from customers and peers can also help us  gauge the effectiveness of the business.

Contentment is minding your business, yet that doesn't stop a person from having a keen eye on other successful businesses. I think being versatile is the thin line between contentment and living below potential. We all have big potentials and goals to achieve, but things change quickly. One shouldn't, in the name of contentment, focus on fusty or outdated goals, that's why some who claim to be contented don't earn as much as they aimed to achieve in the start of their journey, thereby living below their potential. On the other hand, when a person doesn't know when to stop waiting that's a waste of time not patience. We can't wait forever in the name of being patience, trying different methods is what opens way for opportunities in the life of a business man.

Some people are different from others. Not everyone will be insatiable in life so they may stop at the level that they feel contented not to keep aiming for huge finance. Some people may see wealth and riches as vanity and not bother anymore for greater financial height to the surprise of others.


When you are making profit and satisfied with it, this is a good indication that you are not wasting your time in the business. Business is about profit and you have to be able to take care of yourself family with it before proclaiming the business as not a waste of time.

This is not contentment. Contentment doesn't really mean that you have attained to a certain level of wealth. Contentment is not a worth reserved for the wealthy. Even someone that isn't rich can still be content with what he has while aiming for more.
Contentment is peace of mind;
Contentment is something that do not set you up for distress and disappointment.
When you practice the act of contentment you will understand how rich you are and how you can produce better plans to advance in life.

Being content is appreciating what you have and aspiring to get more legitimately. Contentment doesn't mean that you shouldn't take risks and pursue other goals or ambitions. But when you tend to chase after a business or activity to achieve it through hook or crook, that's greed. I believe everyone should aspire to go high especially when there are opportunities to achieve more but it shouldn't be by all means. For you to be content you need patience because sometimes you might not have any opportunity to achieve more. We also need to know that patience is not a waste of time, it is the ability to wait for the right time. We shouldn't misuse opportunities but we also shouldn't perceive patient people as time wasters.

Correct, I was afraid of something completely unknown to me and preferred to stay in my current job, which I was adept at. I didn't want to go through the stage of being a complete newbie in the workplace. It was way easier for me to stay where I am, even though that job opportunity could potentially lead to the start of a new career based on my field. Unfortunately, I knew that I had the potential for something better and, most importantly, for what I spent 5 years studying, but I couldn't take the risk, something I regretted, and I'm hoping to at least avoid it in the future.

It is not up to us to decide how someone else can live their life, if someone is happy with what they have even if we think they can achieve more that is their decision, the same is true for anyone that is always pushing themselves and they never seem content with what they have achieved, just let them do whatever works for them and do not try to change their mind, and about your second question, there is no way to know if you are wasting your time, any business involves risk, and this means accepting the fact that you could invest years of income, time and effort to something and still come empty handed.

Being contented is different from living below your potential. When a person feels contented, it's because their hard work and effort have paid off with good money, which allows them to live the life they want. However, if they have more goals in life they would strive to achieve them instead of stopping at that point. So, when you say:

it doesn't make a lot of sense unless the person has already accomplished everything (which is impossible) or is maybe suffering from depression.

Financial contentment is when a person feels happy and financially stable, having met all their basic needs. This sense of stability can help them feel content with themselves and motivate them to set new goals for their future success. However, as humans we tend to have an insatiable desire for more money and success so it's important to strike a balance between contentment and ambition.

This is a good question. Wasting time is when you're not putting in any effort and just waiting for success to come to you easily. On the other hand, patience is a virtue and a gift, since not everyone has it. Patience is when you're putting in your best effort and waiting for the result and not giving up in the process. Sooner or later your hard work will pay off and that's not a waste of time imo.

Maybe others are contented with what they have cause they lack confidence or they doubt themselves that they can achieve better success in their business. Sometimes people also need to have lessons like attending seminars or workshops on how they can have a better mindset when doing a business or even in investment. There are potentials that are getting wasted because they don't trust themselves and are just contented with what they have since they believe that they can only achieve things up to a certain level.

But if a person is already satisfied with what he has. And he does not have to worry about his financial needs, then maybe it's fine if he just wants to stay like that and doesn't want to push on going higher. Having more money also means having more responsibility. Maybe they are financially stable, but that doesn't mean their mental health and the environment they have is also like that. It would still depend on the person, as long as he's happy and satisfied.