I'm not satisfied

I'm content but not satisfied of where I am. I'll only stop striving when I'm gone from this planet. What is this world going to benefit from my slothfulness under the pretext of being content? There is a clear distinction from being content and being satisfied with mediocrity. Contentment speaks to being satisfied with a progressive, striving, never giving up mind, enduring and an ever positively evolving mind-set. Yes, I agree things might not go your way but ironically that is when the peace of contentment comes in. Contentment is when you have the maturity to be calm and positive despite it being acceptable to lose your mind. Not being satisfied is the catalyst that propels people who make a positive impact on their surroundings. Indeed, this was the catalyst that propelled Martin Luther King, that saw Nelson Mandela serving a 27 year sentence in prison, that pushed Michael Jordan to be one of the best basketball ball players to have ever lived; we could easily name countless more people who have impacted our world because they were not satisfied with mediocrity!

I believe that a person who has drive is dissatisfied with stagnation. We often set self-limiting boundaries in certain areas of our lives and, as a result, we stop extending ourselves. We do this for various reasons mostly, I believe, for the fear of failure. There is a saying that goes that one of the ways to hit a target is to shoot first and call whatever you hit the target. The truth is that many of us live life aiming at nothing and hope to “hit a target” eventually. We hope that we will end up in a desirable comfortable place but without knowing for sure what desirable or comfortable really is for us. While this may happen for some of us, the reality is that it will not happen for us all. Even for those of us to whom it happens, we would have never experienced the satisfaction of achievement. When we have a clear goal in mind, it may not be achievable from the onset. There may be occasions that we face obstacles and “fall into a mudpit”. The deciding factor is whether we get out of the mudpit and continue towards our goal or, like a pig, we are satisfied with wallowing in a mudpit.

I urge us all not to be satisfied with not trying or putting in our best effort. Let us not be satisfied with mediocrity. Let us not be satisfied with other people deciding the extent of our progress. If we are employees, let us be content with our jobs but never be satisfied with not progressing to new heights. Do not be satisfied with not being developed as an employee because, ultimately, the job may ‘belong’ to the employer but you own your career. You have the responsibility to constantly nurture and grow your career.

Seeing as today is Women’s Day in South Africa I would like to pay a tribute to a woman who blazed a trail to where many have not been, despite a traumatic childhood. At the tender age of 15, Charlize Theron witnessed her mother shoot her alcoholic father in an act of self-defence. Despite this horrific event Charlize was not satisfied with sitting back and letting life pass her by; she pressed on in her ambition and zest for life and is now one of the most respected and talented actresses in the world and is the first South African actress to win an Oscar.

 Best wishes

Themba Dlamini