What is it about our lives that mean we’re never completely satisfied? Mick Jagger said it best. We just can’t seem to get no satisfaction. 
It’s really difficult to maintain that positive outlook when unfortunate things happen, or when we’ve had a bad day at work, or when the kids just won’t stop bugging you about one thing or another. It’s also tough to be satisfied when you look at other people and you compare yourself unfavorably to them, or when your health insurance is horrible, or when you don’t even have health insurance and you develop a medical condition that needs treatment. That’s how the world seems to work. And that’s what we were talking about around the water cooler today. How can we maintain some level of satisfaction with life when life inevitably gets in the way?
At Home:
One of the biggest indicators for whether or not you’re happy is being satisfied with your home life. Do you ever wonder why so many people get divorced and so many kids’ lives are irrevocably damaged and/or changed due to this? It’s because one or both spouses weren’t satisfied at home. And it all begins with communication. If you’re not satisfied with your relationship, figure out why that is, and talk with your significant other about it. What a lot of people who get divorced fail to realize is that satisfaction doesn’t just come because you’re out of that home situation. Satisfaction is something you have to feel from within, and just a change of scenery doesn’t make it happen automatically. That’s also where communication comes in. Communicate with yourself. Think about why you’re not satisfied and what you can do to make that happen.
At Work:
A lack of satisfaction at work can bleed over into other aspects of your life. This was the biggest point brought up around the water cooler. Think about it. We spend more time at work, generally, than we do with our families. If that is the case, what transpires at work can heavily affect your home life. Imagine coming home from work after a day when you felt disrespected and unappreciated by your boss. Or imagine you are the boss and you had to fire someone that day. That can certainly change the way you view things at home once you’ve arrived back at what is supposed to be your sanctuary. We have to leave those things at the door, or at the very least we should talk to a friend or our significant other about it right away. That way we can relax and allow ourselves the satisfaction that should come from being home.
In Sickness and in Health:
Being sick doesn’t mean you can’t be satisfied. Too often we fall into the routine of being sick and being miserable. Those two things don’t have to go together. At the water cooler, we all agreed that instead of giving us a license to be miserable, we can use sickness as an excuse to be happy. Enjoy being pampered, but do what you can do return the favor to those who are taking care of you. Being satisfied is as easy as knowing you deserve it, but also knowing that everyone else deserves it too. So, be a good patient and appreciate what you’ve got. I know it will make others feel appreciated and lead to their satisfaction as well. And everyone knows that two satisfied people are better than one.
Too often we focus on those negatives, preferring to complain about not being satisfied at home, at work, or in other situations. Let’s flip that and prove Mick Jagger wrong. We CAN get satisfaction. We deserve it. And it’s ours for the taking, if we just reach out and accept it. Nothing that’s worth anything is accomplished easily. It takes work, but it’s definitely worth it.
Sam
Sam's Online Journal 
I like to think of satisfaction as a personal choice. It’s a conscious acceptance of reality, entirely and with no reservations. It takes time to learn how to do that, but it leaves you happier in the end.
No reservations indeed. That’s the problem with people these days. They are too reserved. They are too insular. They don’t communicate what they feel, how they are. That’s why they receive no satisfaction, and yet they complain about it enough. Use that urge to complain earlier when you first have issues. When you’re first feeling unsatisfied. But don’t whine about it. Just talk it through. Personal choice, indeed.
Bingo 😀
What? Were we playing a game? 🙂 Missed ya, Clem.
I recently read a book that has really changed my level of satisfaction at home, at work, and elsewhere. It’s called “One Thousand Gifts” by Ann Voskamp. One area it really helped was my relationship with my husband. I tend to keep busier than I need to be, so I used to feel like sitting on the couch with him watching TV was a waste of my time. I didn’t feel fulfilled, because I was worried about other things. Then I recognized that just having time with him was a gift. I’ve slowed down in that area of my life and other areas and have learned to recognize more “gifts” that I had been missing. This has greatly increased my satisfaction!
Thank you for the book suggestion. I always love to add to my list, especially when people whose opinions I value mention them.
Yes, I think you would enjoy it!