No. happiness and contentment are not the same things. In my 38 years of age, I have seen and experienced many emotions.
Therefore, I believe I can ascertain that happiness and contentment are different things.
This post will highlight some of the significant differences between happiness and contentment.
Difference between happiness and contentment
By definition, happiness is the experience of having positive thoughts like joy and pride.
On the other hand, contentment is a longer-lasting feeling that provides one with a deep feeling of satisfaction and gratitude.
This begs the question; would you rather be happy or content? Well, happiness, in most cases, is short-lived.
It is a temporary feeling and goes away faster than contentment. Contentment, generally, is a feeling of great satisfaction. Thus, contentment has a long-lasting effect on those who experience it.
On returning to my earlier question, would you rather be happy or content? As a mother of two, my children make me happy at times, but that only lasts so long as I have to give one a scolding sooner or later.
Happiness always sounds preferable. That is understandable because who would not want to have feelings of pride and joy in their hearts? However, as seen, happiness is only a temporary feeling.
Contentment may have less beneficial results in the beginning. However, in the long run, the effects are longer lasting.
Is it possible to be happy all the time?
When writing this post, I did some research of my own. I typed the keywords “how to be happy” into Google. The results were astonishing.
I got over seven billion results in a record 0.43 seconds. This only means that it is possible to be happy all the time.
Subsequently, I went to the same search engine and typed the keywords “how to be contented.” To my surprise, the results totaled a mere eighteen million.
In my personal opinion, many people are too focused on being happy than remaining content.
Contentment is important. Perhaps this may be brought about by the fact that many people are looking for rapid results.
So, as a society, can we tell the difference between happiness and contentment?
Can one be content without being happy?
For instance, you may interview for two jobs. You want one because it is probably your dream job.
However, you do not get the dream job and get the other one. If it is close enough to your dream job, you may find some satisfaction in it. This is especially true if you struggle to attain it after a while.
Many people find their jobs tolerable because they pay the bills, and some are even content for as long as it suits them.
Even if you dislike your job, you may find a silver lining in that you are able to provide or promote a noble cause.
With this information, importance, meaning, purpose, and a sense of mission are some of the key ingredients in attaining lasting contentment.
It may also help if you look at the desire for happiness the same way you look at food. Naturally, living beings have a compulsion to eat because we need food to live.
Regardless, at times we may find ourselves in a position where we still want to eat even after we are full.
At times this is because we crave the taste and pleasure of the food. This is understandable.
In the 21st century, we are the convenience age. This means there are convenience foods that often fill us up but leave no meaningful nutrition.
Conversely, this leaves the consumer with a sense of dissatisfaction. This can be likened to happiness.
Many times, we look for happiness in distractions like meaningless relationships, entertainment, and drinks. This is unhealthy and will leave you dissatisfied.
Contentment can be likened to when we learn how to eat nutritious food and avoid empty calories. This will leave our bodies and soul full and content for a long time.
As you move through life, always ask yourself whether you are working to impulse or seeking to develop a lasting and meaningful relationship. Always make your decisions based on this merit.
Do not get me wrong, though. I am not saying that looking for pleasure is wrong. However, what is your driving force? Is it temporary happiness or lasting contentment?
Partake in pleasure with the motive of having a lasting and enjoyable memory. You may also use those moments to be part of your strategy for constructing meaningful and lasting relationships.
Conclusion
I hope that you have learned something from this article. There is a difference between contentment and happiness.
Contentment is a feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment. In contrast, happiness is the state of experiencing enjoyment, pleasure, and the absence of pain.
My parting words to you are that you should lead a purposeful life. Make better choices that will enable you to become kinder, wiser, and stronger in your beliefs.