Happy or content: Which would you rather be?

I would submit:

Happiness can only be achieved in the here and now, in the moment, so to speak, and is forever a fleeting emotion, often momentarily felt by achieving a goal.

Conversely, contentment is a constant, a sense and feeling of well-being, peacefulness, gratitude, and satisfaction, and comes solely from within.

You can be happy and not content, but you can be content and I would say, be almost guaranteed moments of happiness.

What are your thoughts?

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CookieCrumbs · F

I’ve been faced with these choices in the past. Not an easy choice. Our instinct is to choose happiness. It takes more conscious choice from us to choose contentment.

From the standpoint of knowing the past, i would be inclined to choose contentment.

Ontheroad · M

@CookieCrumbs I've often thought (when asked if I'm happy), that I'm not and that bothered me... quite a lot. But, when I finally realized how content I've become, I realized happiness, while similar to contentment, is usually a fleeting moment and filled with elusive expectations. It's those expectations that, when unfulfilled, tend to shatter us. Now I'm thrilled to feel content and just accept whatever happiness comes along.

CookieCrumbs · F

@Ontheroad
[quote]It's those expectations that, when unfulfilled, tend to shatter us.
[/quote]

And those are the expectations that we will remain happy in the exact same way and intensity. Life doesn’t work that way.

Ontheroad · M

@CookieCrumbs Exactly! And, funnily enough, the less I expect, the happier those happy moments are.