7-Day Contentment Challenge: Begin the New Year With Enough by Makeda Mutema-Newton

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What contentment actually is

I misunderstood this for years

Happy Sunday, -


This month marks ten years since my eviction.


Ten years.


And I’ve been thinking about how badly I misunderstood contentment back then and maybe didn't know what it was at all.


If you had asked me at the time, I would have told you I was grateful.


I loved God.

I loved my family.

I said the right things.


But my spending told a different story.


Contentment, to me, meant pretending I was fine.


It meant not complaining.

It meant pushing through.

It meant telling myself to “just be thankful” while still feeling restless underneath.


Real contentment isn’t pretending.


It’s honesty.


It’s being able to say,

“I feel behind.”

“I feel insecure.”

“I want more.”


Without immediately trying to fix those feelings with a purchase.


When we were evicted, I had to face something uncomfortable.


Not only did I love nice things, but I was also overspending because I was trying to soothe pressure.

To prove stability.

To look like we were fine.


Contentment in real life looks like this:



It’s not passive.


It’s powerful, and it’s learned.


This week, I want you to gently ask yourself:

Where am I pretending I’m content instead of practicing it?


We’ll walk through this together.



Chat soon,

Makeda

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