Posted on November 24, 2008 - by rdilipk1

I am Satisfied

What is satisfaction? Why is it that we are not able to be satisfied with whatever I do?’, ‘It was an autumn after I passed out of my professional college and I was frustrated with being jobless. I felt I had enough qualifications to get a good job but, there I was hopping companies in search of a job. Nothing was working out. Finally I went in for an interview to a home cleaning job and I got it. I knew that the package was extremely good just because the job was dirty. But I had no choice.

After about 2 years in the job, I got a mail from my college inviting me for a batch mates meet. It was sunday, and I was extremely anxious to meet my batchmates. After an evening enjoying with them, we decided we would meet again, just the five of us who were the best of friends, as it was a long time that we met.

As we sat at the coffee table the next evening, we discussed a lot of things and eventually came onto the most preferred topic of discussion for a group – cribbing about everything that is dissatisfied about their jobs and life.
All my friends were working in good organizations and in good positions but had to slog and were not being paid as handsomely as I was. but I never had to slog. My friends were dissatisfied about having to slog and I was dissatisfied about my profile.

After about 11 years we met again in the same coffee shop. By then I had started a home-cleaning business of my own and I was working almost 18 hrs a day. A few of my friends were directors and Senior Managers. We were still dissatisfied. I for having to slog and my friends, ought of the feeling that their ideas were never accepted and that they had no personal growth and were being paid for nothing.

After he finished his story, he asked me, “Now what according to you is satisfaction and when is it that you will be satisfied”?

The question was puzzling and made me think for a few minutes as to what exactly satisfaction was.

I got the answer at a session that I attended about a couple of months back.
Ask me and I would today say that “Satisfaction” was a state of mind. Just like water has a state – Solid, liquid and vapour, Mind too, has a lot of states and satisfaction and dissatisfaction are just states of your mind.

How is it that water changes states? When you subject it to temperature. Let”s call temperature as exertion. When you subject your mind to exertion, you change the state of mind. So satisfaction or, dissatisfaction depends upon the level of exertion that you put your mind into. If you feel you are dissatisfied today, and subject your mind to extreme exertion, then just don”t refrain from doing it. Keep it going. Gradually you would reach a state where you would find reasons for satisfaction from what you doing. Probably that is why, some wise men said, “You have the right to be dissatisfied because dissatisfaction is what will be the foundation of your satisfaction for tomorrow.

So decide what is the exertion level that you want you mind to be subjected to and you would be able to decide if you want to be satisfied or, otherwise.