A Healthy Dose of Dissatisfaction

By Bob Cox

I recently found myself becoming increasingly annoyed as I listened to someone rant on about the ineptness of the health care system and the shortage of care they felt entitled to. While I realized that this person had endured a tremendous amount of chronic pain and a number of intrusive physical disabilities, I was shocked by their absence of gratitude for the health care professionals, friends and family members who went above and beyond to ease their pain when they needed it most.

It took me a few days to realize that my negative emotions had once again been misdirected towards someone else. After a brief glance into the metaphorical mirror, the answer became embarrassingly obvious. Over the past few months, I’ve been wasting far too much valuable time dwelling on something I wanted and didn’t have while missing the obvious and beautiful blessings I’m surrounded by every day.

While I won’t bore you with a long and itemized list of things I’m grateful for, I will acknowledge the abundance of so many good things in my life that I take for granted more than I’d like to admit. I have a wife that I adore, family and friends that I cherish, work that is immensely satisfying and a place that I enjoy coming home to every day.

So, why do I find myself stumbling back into the depressing pit of chronic dissatisfaction? Could that actually be for my own good, an opportunity for deeper self reflection and personal growth? Yes, as long as my dissatisfaction is not excessive, imbalanced and constantly disrupts my sense of peace and well being.

For these reasons, I do believe that a small but healthy dose of dissatisfaction can be the catalyst for a great new adventure. After all, if you were 100% satisfied with everything in your life, what motivation would you have to experience something new, fresh and invigorating? You certainly wouldn’t feel the need to grow and evolve.

Imagine being a caterpillar that is 100% content with life on the ground. You have no awareness of the amazing transformation that’s about to take place until a good friend flies in for a visit. Your buddy looks amazingly different, adorned with majestic wings and a slender new physique. No, he hasn’t been climbing the stairmaster at the local gym every day. He does go on to share his remarkable experience...

One day I stopped eating and crawled up the tallest tree I could find. Then I hung upside down from a twig and spun myself into a silky cocoon. Within this protective casing, I radically transformed my body from a caterpillar into a butterfly. Needless to say, I won’t be crawling around in the dirt anymore, hoping to avoid being squished!

Upon hearing this amazing revelation, would you still be good with crawling on the ground? Probably not. You might fool yourself into thinking you’re good with the way things are as a caterpillar, especially if you’re immobilized by the fear of heights, confined spaces or the great unknown. If that were to happen to you, guess what? It’s your turn to gaze into that metaphorical mirror. And when you do, don’t be frightened if a butterfly is looking back at you.