There are a myriad of objects that I deserve more of. I work hard; I deserve more free time. I’m a pretty good person; I deserve more friends and compliments. I haven’t played any games in a while; I deserve to buy more. I haven’t had an easy life; I deserve more breaks.

Give me more. I deserve more.

It’s hard not to think like this. I wish I could say I’ve never thought like this, but I do much more often than I’d like to admit. No matter how much I get of anything, many times it never seems to be enough. Especially living in today’s culture of instant gratification, it can almost seem crazy to think that I should ever settle and be content with what I do have.

But this constant discontent is a poison, slowly killing my happiness and appreciation for what there is in my life. It’s a poison that I believe runs through all of us. Why else do people slave their lives away every day, always searching for that next promotion or that next job that provides just a little more money than the last one? Why else do people float from song to song, movie to movie, tv show to tv show, other than for the fact they are always searching for that next better “thing”? Why else do people go through so many different relationships, other than that they keep searching for one that will be better?

This poison is more than just this sense of entitlement that we deserve better — it’s also the idea that there is better. There’s the delusion that what I have already isn’t good enough for me, and since it’s not good enough, there must clearly be something that is better out there that should be rightfully mine. It’s the rat race, the hamster endlessly running in a wheel, the grass that’s mowed just to be cut again in a few weeks.

No matter how much we get, no matter what we get, it will never be enough. So why waste your time, energy, emotions and possessions in search of something you will never find on earth? There is no materialistic item on earth that could ever possibly make you as happy as you want to be — no amount of money, no amount of possessions, no amount of experiences, no relationship, no social status. It’s all an empty, continual search for whatever might be better.

The simple idea of contentment goes a long way. Appreciate what there is in your life already. The fact that you’re alive and have the resources to access this article. The fact that you have the ability to read this and to be able to disagree or agree with what I say. The fact that you have food or a home or any resemblance of a family is something to never take for granted. To be able to go to school, to have your health, or to enjoy a simple walk — these are all gifts taken for granted far too often.

There are always aspects of life that are taken for granted — let’s try to change that.