Satisfaction; the Delighted Mother and the Inquisitive Child

My daily bus rides to school are usually filled with a compliment of music from my handphone (through my earphones of course) and the usual reading of my notes.

A couple of days back however, during my usual bus ride to school, something interesting happened and though it may seem like a really normal event, something inside me made ponder about the simplicity and the things that life can bring to us.

Basically what happened was...

As the bus reared around the corner of Anderson Primary school and towards the MRT station's bus stop, the duo who were sitting right in front of me fumbled for the bell button, to signal for the bus to stop.

The little boy, about 3 years of age, eagerly reached for the button while his mother carried him, preventing his fall. A bell tolled near the front of the bus, almost instantly soon after, signalling that the bus will stop at the next station.

I observed the boy's expression with great interest; he was smiling, evidently delighted. Following that, caught a glimpse of his mother's expression; nothing less then what I saw on the boy's facial expression. I saw something that many people nowadays overlook in their daily lives.

I've not observed things like this in a long time. These are little details that we often miss out in our daily lives and sometimes, its good and ideal to take a step back and just relax while observing the various human expressions and behaviour.

But just what was it that I saw?

Satisfaction.

Many a time, our lives are hectic and filled with worldly committments (refer to my previous posts for an elaboration). So much as to contributes to our ignorance, for minor but meaningful observations as such.

However, do not mistake my intentions, for I'm not saying that a life without committments is a good one; a balanced blend of the both is much needed.

So what is Satisfaction?

"The fulfillment or gratification of a desire, need, or appetite" (as cited from dictionary.com)? Well, in a theorical way, I guess that'll float the boat. But I like to think that Satisfication is a state whereby one achieves a desired outcome out of a certain action.

At around 5:45AM on Thursday morning, Manchester United won the Champions League (refer to my earlier post, once again). Yes, I watched the match but what I was looking forward to was the celebrations at the end of the game (and of course to see United win).

To me, the pinnacle of satisfaction comes when you've put in an immerse amount of effort into a particular action or endeavour. As such in United's case, I'm really sure that they put in their due effort just to achieve their due reward; a double of titles (BPL and Champions League titles).

The scale of satisfaction however, holds no boundaries. I personally feel that satisfaction is a set quantity; it depends on how the individual views the subject matter.

What this means is that the satisfaction of winning the Champions League (for example), is comparable to say, overcoming a phobia for instance. This is subjective though as not everyone might feel this way. Commonly, the amount or rather, level of satisfaction one gets from a particular action depends on the amount of effort (as mentioned).

To me however, cleaning up my room or even helping our in the dishes wields the same amount of satisfaction as to say, finishing up my assignments. Weird but true.

We must not underestimate the value of satisfaction. Strange as it may sound, this is evident in the world we're living in, especially due to the high demands that the society has on us; we are never satisfied totally.

In a way, this is a good thing as it spurs us on to greater heights and to perform pass our benchmark. But when the time comes to reap our rewards, we should go all out and not dwell on our weaknesses.

Satisfaction can act as a motivation. A motivation to do better, a motivation to improve. In that sense, satisfaction is Powerful.

When one is satisfied with something, we should strive to do better and achieve the same level of satisfaction or better for the future projects. In doing so, working it to our advantage.

So lets open up our social filters and view the world with an open eye. Only then will we find our drive and motivation to achieve greater things.