Cultivating Contentment. Can I just start off by saying this has GOT to be a life-long learning lesson that presents unique challenges with every new and old season we encounter.

It has proven this way for me and many of my friends. Even those that I think have mastered life’s problems, seem to land in places of discontent.

Like an unfinished piece of art.

I struggled with finding contentment most when I…

Walked out of a marriage at the age of 24 with a toddler, $50,000 of debt and some, but not all, of my general education completed towards a four-year degree. Based off my current situation and where I needed to be, I had work to do! I needed a lot.

And perhaps, just maybe, where you are today my friend, you feel the same sense of displacement.

I see this more than I would like. I see it in myself, those I love and those I want to help. If you are one of the lucky few who wants to stop the crazy circus of discontentment, the crazy cycle of spending, competing and feeding the bottomless pit of unsettledness; YOU MUST be willing to grab control of your heart and mind and remain content while taking action and moving forward.

From my personal journey of working through my disarray of obstacles and achievements, I have put together four steps of action to help you create contentment as you work hard to achieve your own success story as a single mom.

Here ya go….

1. Seek answers. What is it that bothers you the most? What specifically is in that pasture that looks better to you and throwing you off into a state of discontent? What’s the green grass you think is better than what you currently have? Now, is it what you really want? Is that the life that will really bring you joy? Are these things tangible and once you have it it’s no longer even worth wanting?
2. Take action. Create progress. If that pasture is worth working for then create a plan of action with S.M.A.R.T objectives. You may already be doing this, and instead of taking action you may need to give yourself a break. As you keep working hard, the results will fall into place. Yes, they will.
3. Trust the process and the Law of Attraction. It comes as no surprise the dog and the kids always need to be fed. And somehow you always manage to put food on the table. The dog may starve but the kids eat. It just happens. Over and over again those babies are fed. Day after day and week after week. If you look back on your life things may have have been hard, for some even harder, but you’ve managed to push through. Trust that as you take each day and build on it seeking truth and betterment you will create the necessary change in good time. Rest in this. It’s a universal law. If it’s the path you are supposed to take then you will succeed. If it’s not, the opportunities will align for the correct path. It just happens. But only when your heart is good and you desire good. Something about a bad heart. It just doesn’t get good things!
4. Cultivate a servants heart. In some way, in some shape and in some form, there is always someone that needs more than you. Find them. Seek them out. And then give to them. Give them your time. Give them your money. Give them your heart. Give them your wisdom. Give them your cheeseburger or tacos. Give them your kids.  JK. I am not suggesting to the point that you are not providing for you and those little rascals of yours. There are always those that give too much with unsafe or unhealthy boundaries but if you are someone who is looking and longing at the life of others and doing little to nothing to be thankful for what you have….start giving.

It took me…

A bankruptcy of that original $50,000, three more years of college, five plus trips to court to battle an ex-husband that never chose to pay child support, 3 years of welfare and an additional $45,000 of debt (I paid off in cash) to finally reach a place where I could breathe. I wish I had been better at resting in the middle of my mess. I wish I had found more moments of beautiful between all those years.

Instead, I was too fearful. Too hard on myself for not making better choices. Too angry at it all.

So my friend, take these little treasures of my life I have chosen to share and find more joy in the days that don’t look the way you want them to. Seek answers and truth in your discontent. Trust the process of creating change and give freely to others so others will find you and give abundantly.

Challenge: what do you need to let go of to welcome a place of contentment while you are growing into a more beautiful you? If you are unsure, are you willing to take the challenge to find it and let it go?