why are we never satisfied with what we have ?

Question

we spend our whole lives chasing success, but when we achieve it we crave for more, so that in the twilight of our years instead of being content in what we have acheived, we are often as not regretful of what we have missed out on

Answer 1

You are right.

But then on the other hand, maybe this is what pushes us forward!

Answer 2

your partly right but its a natural action to try to live or gain a successful life and have all the things you want without having to worry how to pay but there comes a time to say enough is enough I will enjoy all what i've acheived while i'm able to do so and that is where i think you might be wrong as there would be nothing i would have missed out on, its just knowing when to retire and early if possible

Answer 3

If you believe the Christian answer, the reason we are always chasing after more of what can't satisfy us is because we are a flawed species. Basically, the old theological concept of Original Sin means that we have an inherited flaw that afflicts the whole human race, a flaw which I once heard wisely described as "the natural inborn human tendency to louse everything up". So we waste a lot of our life in pusuit of futility. "You can't take it with you" applies to more than just money -- you can't take fame, power, good looks, or any other perishable part of life with you. Death is the narrow exit we all will eventually have to pass through, and you can't squeeze through it with any baggage at all. Here's my idea, which may not make sense to you unless you believe in heaven and eternal life. If you don't, give this idea a try anyway, and see if you get anything out of it that works for you. -- When we come to the gate, we will be stripped naked, leaving behind absolutely everything, all our status and achievements and bragging points and awards. We arrive on the other side with nothing. And there we will be met with a cart, marked with our name, filled with everything we ever gave up during our lifetime. Here is the cherished toy you gave to your little brither when he cried for it, here are all the afternoons you gave up to visiting a lonely old neighbor, here is the college degree you gave up to work in the family business, here is the promotion you gave up to spend more time with your family, here is the leg you gave up to protect your army buddy from a grenade, here is the privacy you gave up to take your mother-in-law into your house, here is the public acclaim you gave up rather than lie about your views on a matter of controversy. The only things we will have in the end are the things we let go of. The things we chase after and cling to and pile up, those are all ephemeral.

Answer 4

Because we pursue what we think are the wrong things. It is natures(or God's) way of telling us we are not pursuing what is really important.

Some people actually live fulfilling lives and have no regrets. If one can come to realize that every experience we have is for our eventual enlightenment and there are really no wrong choices, we then will have fewer or no regrets. One lesson we all can learn is that we are here, in this life, to learn or to evolve. One does not expect a student in school to know all the answers before starting class. Why do we criticize our selves for not making all the right choices?

The only regrets one ought to have on their death-bed are: Did I learn from all the life experiences I had, or did I just call them mistakes or sins thus refusing to learn the needed lesson.

Answer 5

It depends on what you define as success. If you spent most of your life defining success as money and realize in your twilight years that success is something else (experiencing great adventures, having a family, finding someone to love, accomplishing something that will make the world a better place, expressing yourself creatively, etc.) then of course you will not be satisfied. Try to think about what success means to you now so that this doesn't happen to you.

Answer 6

I wish I knew the answer to this question. I know that I have never been satisfied and I always think "when I have this or that, then I'll be happy." But that never happens because I have a good job, I have decent friends, but in my personal life, I have always wanted more and more and at the expense of people who should have been more than enough for me. I think it's a societal problem. Years ago, kids said they wanted health and happiness. Now they say money and fame. I think we all know that this is a wrong way to feel and yet we still all feel it.

Answer 7

It depends on a number of factors like how we measure or define ourselves and success. Or like someone who was poor can become determined to prove themselves or some people become addicted to 'success' like a drug because they push themselves so hard.
However it also depends on how deeply and honestly we think about life and what matters most. I was very poor as a child but I don't think like this. I've thought a lot about my life and I've made my own definition of success for me and it's not about comparing to others and not about material goods. I am not rich compared to some but I am successful within my own definitions and I'm grateful for how far i've come rather than how far there is to go. Sadly maturity does not always come with age and true success in life is not necessarily linked to material success. My own success is based on overcoming personal obstacles and working towards the level of integrity that I want, but wasn't born with.

Answer 8

because some people in this world are full of greed. they never satisfied of what they have and keep wanting more, then realise that its too late. There is a saying, "the more you get the more you want." Life is too short and what you have you can't take it with you when you die. Enjoy life while you can or you will regret in later years.
SO ENJOY LIFE BELIEVE ME YOU SHOULD

Answer 9

I wish sometimes that my life could kinda be like a video game so that way I could save the "game" at a good spot, then if i screwed up or I didn't get the things I wanted, then I could just go and reload my "game" that way everything would turn out perfect. I wonder if that even makes sense...it does to me I don't know about you guys.

Answer 10

We're set up to desire. It's necessary for us, in order to be agents for ourselves as individuals in the world, to act and plan in order to get our needs met. We get pleasure from things "out there" that meet our physical needs, but then we learn to desire things that meet needs, just for the pleasure, even when our actual need is met. An ego or will has nothing to do, if the body's needs are met and there is nothing more desired. In order to be satisfied we would have to BOTH 1. use our will to see that our needs are met and then 2. turn off our ego, and surrender to being just as we are. It's a balancing act and no one can ever learn it perfectly.

Answer 11

Because it makes a better story. Contentment has no artistic value unless it is of a very limited duration.