22-What is Satisfaction and How Does This Play Into Our Happiness

Today we tackle the question:  Do I need to feel satisfied to be happy?  The problem is, are we ever truly satisfied? 

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2 minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and today we’re chatting about feeling satisfied. 

Satisfaction is a key component of happiness.  Feeling satisfied I wonder, do I need to feel satisfied to be happy?  

There is this idea of satisfaction. That says:  If you have what you want, you will be satisfied. But you know that’s not true because you know that when you get all the things you want, the satisfaction is elusive and doesn’t last.  It’s like running on a treadmill and never getting to the destination. 

Arthur Brooks and many other thought leaders define satisfaction as what you HAVE divided by what you WANT.  

So many of us think we will be more satisfied, happiers even if we get more of what we want. But there is this scientific theory called hedonic adaptation that tells us that we get comfortable with what we have and we always want more.  So it’s basically impossible to “get more” and be happier, long term.   

We’re chasing the wrong thing.  We’re chasing the “want” of the satisfaction equation instead of the “have”.  

Tomorrow, I am going to dive into exactly how to do this using Arthur Brooks’ reverse bucket list technique.  

In the meantime,  Let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram