Contentment vs Expectation

What is contentment, expectation and happiness? Does contentment lead to happiness? And then does having high expectations of oneself and others not lead to happiness?

To me, all these are very subjective.

Before we proceed on to discuss further, we need to know what each of these term means.

From dictionary.com,

Contentment refers to the state or feeling of being satisfied with what one is or has, not wanting more or anything else, while expectation means an expectant mental attitude and happiness refers to the quality or state of being happy or good fortune, pleasure, contentment or joy. Of course the antonym(opposite) of happiness will be misery.

I wonder in today's society, how many people actually experience contentment. How many of us actually feel satisfied with what we have? How many of us are still looking for better things despite having good things already? How many of us are wanting better cars, better housings, and even better partners when we have already have one good one? I do agree that it is good to upgrade ourselves, to give ourselves a better life. But sometimes, when we keep chasing these materialistic things, we forget about contentment. The true feeling of being happy and contented. How often have we compare ourselves to others that they have better life, bigger cards, bigger house and perhaps better husbands/wives.

Sometimes we are too focus in achieving something that is so superficial that we forget that deep down, the reason of us wanting it - to feel contentment and satisfied. But we begin to lose that feeling when we keeping "chasing" and "working" for it and later to find out that there are better ones than the one that we had chased. Then what? We continue to chase and chase..... and there will never be the end.

Someone once told me that he has discovered that his brother is no longer simple-minded as what he thought he was. But rather he was easily contented.

To me, alot of people are suffering from stress, depression and frustration is because they are often not contented with what they had. I am not saying that one should not set high expectation and no need to improve. But rather, we should not be focusing so much on the material needs or that glamorous feeling.

Well, to me, being contented and happy is like someone sending you back in public transport when he stays like North/Central while you stays in the east and it doesn't matter if he has a car or not. It's the thought and action that counts. We can't say a person who drives will send you back like the previous guy did if his car broke down. He will most probably ask you to take a cab back while he takes another back on his own.

As human beings, we tends to forget the feeling of contentment. Maybe, sometimes when we feel like everything is DOWN on us..... we should not forget that, there will always be someone who hope to switch place with us.

"I complaint that I have no shoes.
Until I see someone with no legs."

We should always weigh and balance our contentment and expectations. 100% contentment won't make us grow as a person. With 100% expectation won't make us a happy person even if we have the whole world too, isn't it? We should always balance this two elements so that we can be someone with achievements and happiness.

Do you think so?