Why do so many of us feel unsatisfied at times? 12 Ways to address and cope with feelings of dissatisfaction

Why do so many of us feel unsatisfied in our lives at times? This sense of dissatisfaction allows room for anger, anxiety, and frustration within us. Do we ever pause to ask ourselves: What am I going through? More importantly, do we take action to cope with these feelings?

While external factors such as work, unmet expectations, and societal pressure affect our mental health and lead to fluctuations in our sense of satisfaction.

Instead of staying unsatisfied, we must find some ways to cope with it.

1. Identify this source. Where is the source of dissatisfaction coming from? Understanding the root cause allows us to figure out how to address it directly.
2. Focus on what you can control. Focus on such things that are in our control. When we get trapped in an unsatisfied life, we lose control, even if they are small, like our habits and daily routines.
3. Find yourself in a state of flow. Find something that you love and lose track of time.
4. Revisit your past achievements/victories. Think about your strengths and abilities that helped you overcome challenges even when you felt unsatisfied.
5. Create a stop doing list. Instead of adding more tasks to your list, shorten your doing list. You can exclude activities, thoughts, or habits that drain you or contribute to a sense of dissatisfaction.
6. Shift your perspective. Reframe your thoughts by asking, what can I learn from this situation or circumstance? How can I grow out of this challenge? This helps shift focus from the problem to solving it.
7. Creative expression. You can turn your feeling of dissatisfaction into some form of writing or offer a creative expression.
8. Explore new experiences. Feeling stuck in doing something can lead to a sense of dissatisfaction. Try something completely new, i.e., out of your daily routine, or break the old patterns.
9. Practice complete acceptance. Practice accepting the situation, including difficult emotions or circumstances that you are in, without fighting or resisting them.
10. Connect with your values. Practice connecting with your core values.
11. Find humor in a difficult situation. Find humor in difficult situations to lessen the emotional load of dissatisfaction.
12. Don’t get serious in life. Having a playful attitude in life helps us to face challenges without losing enthusiasm.