Are you satisfied in life? You might say, “Yes, I’m satisfied,” or “No, I’m not.” But true satisfaction is not as easy to define as you might have thought. What does it even mean to be really satisfied? Life satisfaction has always been a tricky concept. Satisfaction comes from the Latin word satisfacere, which means “to make enough.” To be enough.
But enough for what?
You might think it’s a feeling of contentment, a sense that everything is “good enough.” But where does that come from? Is it from ticking off boxes — a good job, a great relationship, enough money, the status of society?Or is it something else for you? Satisfaction is like the end goal of everything we do. We work, love, and seek pleasure — hoping it will all add up. But does it? Do you ever stop to ask yourself, “Am I truly satisfied?”
We’re wired to want more.
It’s how we’ve evolved — survival depends on pushing forward, not settling. That’s why the feeling of satisfaction is so short when it’s tied to external markers (goals or things we accumulate). Your brain is like, “Okay, what’s next?” Ever heard of the hedonic treadmill? It’s a psychological idea that explains how we adapt to new circumstances — both good and bad. You get a raise, buy a new car, or go on a dream vacation, and you feel good for a while. But soon ( give it a few weeks or months), that new level of happiness becomes your baseline.
You adjust.
The old joy becomes the new normal. Before you know it, you’re back to your usual state, still wanting more. The same goes for negative events. You lose something, go through a breakup, or have a setback, but eventually, you bounce back to your baseline. Hedonic treadmill shows that external events, whether highs or lows, don’t have a lasting impact on your overall satisfaction in life. So, if you can’t find satisfaction in external things, where do you find it?
Here’s the mind-blowing part: maybe true satisfaction itself is an illusion. Maybe you and I are pursuing something that doesn’t really exist in the way we think it does. Complete satisfaction might be impossible. And perhaps that’s okay. I think life is more about “present experiences of satisfaction” than a permanent state of being satisfied.
“Human desire tends to be insatiable. We are so anxious for pleasure that we can never get enough of it. We stimulate our sense organs until they become insensitive, so that if pleasure is to continue they must have stronger and stronger stimulants. In self-defense the body gets ill from the strain, but the brain wants to go on and on. The brain is in pursuit of happiness, and because the brain is much more concerned about the future than the present, it conceives happiness as the guarantee of an indefinitely long future of pleasures. Yet the brain also knows that it does not have an indefinitely long future, so that, to be happy, it must try to crowd all the pleasures of Paradise and eternity into the span of a few years.”― Alan W. Watts, The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety
I have built the life I want.
The bad news is my brain is conditioned to want more. So I’m actively in the process of practicing gratitude. Stoic philosopher Epicurus notes, “Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.”
I think life is about balance.
It’s about learning to be okay with dissatisfaction, too. Maybe real satisfaction isn’t having everything you want. If you get enough of something — enough money, enough love, enough success — you’ll finally feel satisfied, right? Satisfaction, the kind you think about is beyond your reach. It’s a cycle that keeps us pursuing without an end.
The Buddhists have a term for this: Dukkha — “suffering”, unsatisfactoriness, or discontentment. They argue that the root of our dissatisfaction is attachment. The more we hold to success, love, and money, the more we suffer when they inevitably change or disappear. The way out? Let go. But I know that’s easier said than done.
Satisfaction makes more sense when you think about it as an internal state. Research shows that people who focus on intrinsic goals — like growth, connection, and purpose — are more satisfied than those who want extrinsic goals, like fame, wealth, or image. A sense of satisfaction from within (when you’re content with who you are rather than what you have) is how you escape the hedonic treadmill.
So don’t ask, “Am I satisfied with what I have?” Ask yourself, “Am I satisfied with who I am and how I live?” These are two different satisfaction mindsets. Forget getting to a finish line where you will finally be happy. Find satisfaction along the way, in the process of living, even in the absurd. Don’t tie your satisfaction to “future achievements,” — more success, more stuff, more experiences. You can look forward to growth or achieving things without getting attached to the outcome.
Satisfaction should not be a delayed experience. “I’ll be satisfied when I get that promotion.” “I’ll feel content when I find the right partner.” “I’ll be happy once I have enough money.”
What if it never comes?
Or, worse yet, what if it does, and you realise you’re still not satisfied?
The truth is, no one’s life is always perfectly satisfying. Don’t compare your behind-the-scenes to someone else’s highlight reel. You can’t base your satisfaction on what others have. It has to come from within. When you compare, you’re giving up control of your own happiness.
Now, figuring out what you want versus what you need is tough. There’s a difference between desires and actual needs. Desires are surface-level — things like money, fame, or pleasure. But needs, the essential things you need for your version of a great life, are worth pursuing. Love, purpose, connection, and freedom can do wonders for your life. An idealised version of life doesn’t exist.
Real satisfaction is how you relate to yourself and your life as it is.It’s shifting your focus from “What’s next?” to “What’s here, right now?
The question, “Are you satisfied in life?” has no simple answer. I think it’s the wrong question. Maybe instead of asking if we’re satisfied, we should ask, “Am I present? Am I connected to what I’m doing? Am I at peace with not always being at peace?” Maybe satisfaction isn’t a state we achieve. Maybe it’s something we dip in and out of, and that’s okay.
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