We live in a world in which everyone is constantly wanting something different and something more. People everywhere acknowledge that they are seeking happiness and they try to identify what it is they need in their life to feel a sense of fulfillment. However, this desire is often pursued in today's society in a way that just does not provide a lasting and meaningful effect.
Everyone seems to enjoy complaining about their current status in life, and contemplate the quickest and easiest way to change their situation. Our society has grown into a place where instant satisfaction is a glorified ideal and it is ultimately ruining all hope for achieving a deeper happiness.
In recent weeks, the obsession with instant satisfaction was prevalent as friends, family, and co-workers mused about how good their life would be if only they could win the Powerball. Our culture has such an ingrained misconception that happiness is synonymous with money,and the quality of your life grows in direct correlation to a thickening wallet. Thoughts become consumed with materialistic desires, and easy money is the most appealing, such as a winning lottery ticket.
This concept of instant satisfaction is intertwined with ideas of greed and entitlement and has also seeped into another category of our culture; the dating scene. Somewhere within the past several years, the traditional way of getting to know someone, going on dates, and falling in love has become a nearly extinct notion. Hook-up culture has somehow become an accepted "norm". Rather than putting in the work and the time, many women and men are opting for the "instantly satisfying" route of simply hooking up, often without even getting to know each other. They are reducing themselves and others to one night stands and booty calls in a misguided attempt to get to what they believe will grant them happiness and satisfaction as quickly as possible.
Perhaps money and romantic affairs are the most standout issues in this epidemic, but even simple daily routines seem to be affected. Our society holds the belief that taking the easiest way out is the best road to choose. The problem with engaging in these actions is that these routes for gaining instant satisfaction are not going to grant anyone the happiness they are seeking. Greed and lust have poisoned our culture's eyes and blinded us from identifying the true reasons that make our lives rich and meaningful. We need to refocus our goals and our lives on what truly matters. Modes of instant satisfaction will always be tempting, but they will never hold a candle to the happiness that hard work will grant. Maybe working a 9-5 will never allow the glamorous life a Powerball ticket will, but every cent will be earned, and it is the people in your life that will make you feel like a king or a queen even if your pockets are thin. Love will always require more work and time than simply hooking up, but it is the best way and the only way to find someone who completes you. Our society needs to step away from being consumed by the ideas of instant satisfaction and focus on what leads us to true happiness.
