By choosing a life of contentment, we are saying goodbye, so long, and farewell to things like striving, pushing, forcing, and a general distrust in life and ourselves.
Does it mean we settle for how things are if we don’t like them? That we don’t dream big or stream lots of energy into things we love? No! Choosing to be content is choosing gratitude and joy on a daily basis.
In this article, we’ll discuss what contentment truly means and how to create a life of contentment, one that’s full of simple pleasures and magic around every corner.
What is contentment?
The Oxford Dictionary defines contentment as “a state of happiness and satisfaction.”
Oooh satisfaction, that word just feels so delicious. When you’re satisfied with life, things feel full and flowing, you love everyone you look at, and there’s a general ease and inner peace within you.
When we’re happy, we tend to choose to see the glass half full rather than half empty. Setbacks don’t pull us down very easily and we expect more good to come into our lives than anything else.
Choosing a life of contentment means we begin to actively let go of feeling like we aren’t enough, like others aren’t enough, and like our life isn’t enough.
The most magical part about all of it is that when we begin choosing contentment in the present moment, we become magnets for more joyful moments that will satisfy and delight us.
How to create a life of contentment
Creating a life of contentment consists of a few shifts in perception and some daily habits that eventually become like second nature to you.
It doesn’t mean that you won’t ever fall back into old patterns or be challenged ever again, but once you’ve practiced this way of living, it is SO much easier to pull yourself up out of the woods and into a bird’s eye view of life.
This higher perspective on life reminds you of universal truths and the ease that flows into our lives when we trust, notice the good, and open ourselves to life.
1. The serenity of mindfulness
One of the first steps in choosing a life of contentment is getting present. Mindfulness, the state of becoming aware of the present moment, brings you out of all that disorienting, egoic noise chatter going on in your mind and into reality.
You shift into the observer who is always there behind the mind chatter. Eckhart Tolle’s book, The Power of Now, is a must-read if you want to learn how to lean into this skill.
When I come into the present moment and connect with this part of myself, the stories I’ve been playing in my mind stop, the judgments cease, and I’m left with a quiet curiosity and wonderment.
Bringing yourself into the present moment as often as you can remember throughout the day puts you repeatedly into a state of no resistance. It feels like a respite from the stories your mind has on replay all day long.
Doing this enough times starts to become a habit, and the serenity of mindfulness is that with your dropped resistance and stories, you start to experience joyful things you were missing before. I’m not sure if this is because you’re on an elevated frequency or you’re just simply noticing them now.
Who cares why, it only matters that it’s what happens as a result of being mindful. Full, delicious, satisfying contentment is always found in the present moment.
2. The serenity of surrender
Surrender is another word that conjures images of giving up and just settling for what you see currently in your outer reality, but actually, it means nothing of the sort.
Surrendering means letting go of how the pieces come together. You have your vision for how you want your life to be, and beyond that, you surrender it to universal forces to bring the pieces together for you.
You don’t try to figure out, force, insist, or make things happen. Of course, understanding the law of attraction first is helpful when it comes to fully utilizing the art of surrender.
What magic is created when we surrender? When you surrender, you get out of the way, meaning when you let go of things happening in the way you think they should, you open yourself up to receiving things falling into place in the most genius and synchronistic of ways.
When you let go of trying to control everything and let the universe align things for you, contentment and joy will be a part of your everyday life.
3. The serenity of trusting
On the heels of surrender and giving up trying to control the outer world, let’s now talk about the serenity of trusting and how it plays a huge role in living a life of contentment.
To not trust is to doubt and live in a near-constant state of stress and worry. No contentment is to be found there.
Trusting that you are right where you’re meant to be and that you will be taken to all good things that await you, is like choosing to lay back in the canoe of life.
Again, this comes with the understanding of the universal law that like attracts like. When you are intentional about the way you feel (content, optimistic, hopeful, calm, etc), you naturally attract more circumstances, people, and situations that produce more of these feelings.
Trusting naturally brings contentment into your life because you’re no longer stressing over the small details that were never yours to stress over anyway. You trust that what shows up for you is for you, and what doesn’t, isn’t.
You trust your body, your health, your abundance, your relationships–whether you have them or not currently! When we trust, we actually open ourselves up to inspiration that will lead us to take the best action for manifesting any and everything that brings us joy.
Trust that everything is always working out for you in ways you can’t always understand, and contentment will be yours.
4. The serenity of curiosity
Being curious, as opposed to judgmental or fearful, is a key ingredient to living a life of contentment. When we don’t make anything or anyone our enemies, life is pretty peaceful.
When something upsetting happens, rather than immediately judge yourself, someone else, or the situation, get curious and ask “I wonder what this could be teaching me?” or “I wonder how this could be serving me?”
When something in the world is happening that you find upsetting, rather than feel depressed, angry, or judgmental, ask similar questions. What could this be teaching us as a collective? How could this be serving the world?
Sometimes there isn’t any apparent reason, and here is where we go back to trusting that nothing in this universe is random. Even the random-feeling silly things in our lives bring joy, don’t they? That isn’t random.
Things that seem unfair aren’t random either. Every single drama you see being played out in this world is being done because of the expansion it brings to those involved and those observing.
When you fully trust that the only truth is love, you can get curious rather than upset or judgmental.
5. The serenity of your expectations
We receive what we expect, so in order to live a life of contentment it is highly valuable when we check our expectations frequently.
There’s a difference between what we want and what we are actually expecting. You may want an exciting and healthy relationship, but when you really check in with yourself you find that you expect others to let you down.
We can want a certain amount of abundance but in reality, expect much less to come in. What are you actually expecting? Write out your expectations for all the important areas of your life, from your health to finances to relationships and anything else that matters to you.
Are you expecting health problems as you age? To live paycheck to paycheck for the unforeseeable future? That most men or women can’t be trusted?
I do this practice frequently because I so often find that I’m expecting things I don’t want even though I may be clear on what I want. All I do when I recognize that I’m expecting something I don’t want is to feel into what I do want.
Do this enough times and your expectations will gradually shift and align with what you’re wanting. Now you’re much more likely to be experiencing days that flow with things that bring you joy versus disappointment.
6. The serenity of stillness
We live in a time and age where there is a constant barrage of energetic influences coming into our awareness on a daily basis. Social media, for example (the biggest example, really) is L-O-U-D.
New videos and photos are constantly being made. You could scroll for hours, days, or weeks, and never see it all. Most of us are not scrolling non-stop, but we’re scrolling enough to interrupt our peace of mind more often than we intend to.
There is so much peace, joy, and alignment to be found when we disconnect and spend time with ourselves, our loved ones, our pets, and nature. Pure, unobliterated contentment.
The noise of the world is like being out all day using your phone without a charger around. When we create moments of silence or quality time, our batteries are recharged and restored.
Conclusion
Contentment comes from living your life with intention and subtle mindset shifts. These may require practice at first, but eventually become a way of seeing and living life.
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this article and found something to take away with you.
To receive my weekly, self-care focused email that inspires you to go deeper inside the magic that is you, sign up for the Dwell in Magic weekly newsletter.
If you’d like weekly digital resources, guidance, and community with me and others, join the Dwell in Magic Patreon. We have a book club too!
For self-paced inner work, visit the shop for transformational bundles and guides.
With love,
Jessica
- How Self-Care Sets the Frequency for Everything You Manifest This Year - January 13, 2026
- Magnetism vs Hustle: What True Manifestation Feels Like - July 26, 2025
- Oracle Cards vs Tarot Cards: Understanding the Key Differences - March 11, 2025
Jennifer
Your writings are my absolute favourite. I look forward to every Sunday and your newsletters. Thank you, Jessica for bringing more joy to my life ✨
Jessica Dimas
Thank you so much for that feedback Jennifer 🙏 it means a lot.