How to Have a Bad Day Step 11: Never Be Content

Want to guarantee yourself a solid dose of dissatisfaction? Easy. Just believe that happiness is always one season away.

• As a child: "Can't wait till I can stay up as long as I want"

• As a teen: “Can’t wait till I can drive.”

• High school: “Just gotta graduate and get outta here.”

• College: “It’ll get better when I’m done with exams.”

• Single: “Life will make sense when I’m married.”

• Married: “We'll be happy when we have kids.”

• Parents of babies: “Can’t wait till they sleep.”

• Parents of teens: “Can’t wait till they move out.”

• Empty nesters: “Life will have meaning when I have grandkids."

  
  

Contentment is always just around the corner. You’ve said this every year since puberty, and somehow happiness keeps ghosting you. But don’t let that stop you.

• Always believe that the life you want is the next one. Not this one. This one’s inconvenient, imperfect, and chaotic.

• Convince yourself that future you is a better version: more organized, well-rested, has a hobby, drinks green smoothies, and somehow finds joy in flossing.

• Scroll through your photos from 3 years ago and feel nostalgic for the days you once complained about.

• Wish away today’s noise, not realizing it will become tomorrow’s “simpler time.”

• Say things like “someday I’ll have time to enjoy life” while actively sprinting past it.

Congratulations — you’ve just lived every season waiting for the next one to fix you.

Who has time to “be present” when there’s so much future to fantasize about? Why enjoy your messy, miracle-filled now when you could obsess over the imaginary, cleaner, richer later?

What Scripture has to Say:

“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty... I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

Philippians 4:11–13

“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.”

1 Timothy 6:6–8

“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’” Hebrews 13:5

“Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.” Ecclesiastes 5:10

Tips on Present Contentment

Ask yourself: Would past me be thankful for this? The job, the family, the apartment, the fact that you’re no longer eating instant noodles 6 nights a week — this might be someone else’s dream. And it used to be yours.

Dwaine and I never thought homeownership was in reach. We began our life together in 1991 in a closet size room in the college boys dorm. Then into a parsonage. From there we moved over a dozen times, mostly to basement apartments. We struggled. Alot. Rent was always between $1200-$1500. When I finally made $10/hr I thought I'd hit the jackpot!

Fast forward through 20 years of God’s faithfulness, and in 2011, we became homeowners for the first time.

Here’s the point: I have to regularly remind myself that I’m living the dream. Because most days, my brain starts whispering: Bigger house. More land. Main floor laundry. Ensuite. Bigger closets. The list of “wants” never runs out. But if I’m not careful, those whispers can drown out the truth — I’m already living what I once desperately prayed for.

Life doesn’t owe us ease or aesthetic perfection. The goal isn’t to have or achieve everything; it’s to recognize that what we have is enough.

Final Thought:

Every season definitely comes with a new set of it's own challenges, but noticing what’s good right now rewires your brain. Remember today used to be the season you longed for. But if you keep waiting for perfect, you’ll blink and realize you missed the actual blessings of your current season. And if you're not careful, you’ll spend this season waiting for the next one to fulfill you.

Contentment isn’t a personality trait. It’s a discipline. And gratitude is the doorway.

Now go forth. Romanticize your reality. Say thank you for your weird, beautiful, chaotic season — and have a slightly better day!