Santosha (Contentment with Yourself)

October 13, 2021 | By Jessica Goedtel, CFP®

Take a breath. Where are you right now?

Recently I started meditating again using my Calm app. It’s been a while since I fired it up, but I have been feeling a bit frazzled and am working to incorporate it into my routine. I put on a session the other day and immediately felt relaxed – physically and mentally.

If you haven’t used the app before, there’s a daily meditation available that is usually a few minutes of breathing and then a transition into a topic for the day. That day’s topic was Santosha, a Sanskrit word that roughly translates to contentment.

The narrator went on to explain that Santosha is the practice of finding satisfaction with who we are right now. We tie our goals to our perceived inadequacies and associate the feeling of happiness to achieving these goals.

What if we start with the idea that we’re already good enough? Our goals then simply become the next stepping stone in our journey. We take a moment to appreciate what it has taken us to get where we are today.

This happens all the time in personal finance. “If I only got paid more” or “if I could just save more money, then I’ll be happy.” But chances are once you get to that point, you’ll barely even notice and go on to the next goal. I encourage you to not just think about the financial picture here, but your whole self.

Before setting any new goal, take some time to feel the place you are in right now. Take a breath.  Appreciate it without judgement.

Shifting to this type of mentality won’t happen overnight, nor will it be easy. Like everything great in life, it takes practice, practice and more practice. Learning to not judge yourself. Learning to take a moment and reflect. Learning to let go.

Take a few minutes today and start. You’re awesome.