When we’re children, we always want. First we want to eat, we want to sleep, we want to play. We get older and we want a perfect birthday party and a new bike just like our neighbor has. When we’re teenagers we want our freedom and dream of being on our own. In college we want to pass our classes and get that degree. After that we want a good job and good place to live, maybe we want to find love or have some kids.

Even when we’re relaxing (at any point in our lives) we’re bombarded with advertising. I just watched TV and the commercials go beyond just presenting a product to us and actually use many different approaches to appeal to our different emotions, and even go so far as to attack competitors directly. These commercials told me I can get a great deal at this restaurant (much better value than that other place), I need a new phone that’s so much better than the one I have, my car insurance is too much and I can do better, and there’s this show coming up that I just have to see (no matter what else I should or could be doing at that time). All of these commercials appeal to the viewer’s sense of constant dissatisfaction and desire for other than what they have. They assume that they can sell to the public on the basis that consumers are always looking for something different, and they’re not wrong.

We’re reaching from the time we’re born, but how will we actually “arrive” at a destination when every achievement is shadowed by the next goal? We can’t and we won’t.

There’s nothing wrong with always looking for ways to improve, but we can’t let that distract us from what we already have and where we already are. You can do both: look to the future and be content in this moment—because the truth is, all of us reading this have a lot, even though you might not feel like you do. Take a look around you. Do you have a roof over your head? A meal for tonight? A family or friends? Somewhere to sleep? These are all things most of us have at some point or another, and that means we have what we need. Keeping our lives simple is the best thing we can do for ourselves. You can block out everything around you telling you what you should want and focus on what you need and what you have.

If we are always wanting more things, more achievements, to be more, we will never be happy. There is no end to that lifestyle. You will not wake up one day and sigh and think “I have a wonderful life” unless you have that focus throughout the entire length of your life. Acknowledge the negative, take stock in what you want to improve, set goals for your future, but don’t discount this moment for what it is, as it is. You’re in a different place today than you were yesterday or last year, and each day we have is a gift-- as cliche as that sounds, it's true.

Remember to take a moment to enjoy peace when you can. Take a walk outside. Hug your family. Enjoy the warmth of coffee on your tongue in the morning. When it’s winter enjoy the beauty of the snow instead of wishing for summer. Breathe deeply. Stop reaching and realize that what you have is wonderful.

Life is beautiful as it is, no matter what advertising or other people may tell us.

Practice calm positivity and contentment (you will inevitably move forward).

Remember that you and your life are already enough.