Finding Lasting Satisfaction

Last updated on: July 18, 2025 at 12:40 pm by Richard E. Simmons III

Finding Lasting Satisfaction 2025-07-18T12:40:18-06:00 Richard E. Simmons III

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

For a good while, I have been thinking about the word “satisfaction.” Google defines it as “fulfillment of one’s wishes, expectations, or needs.” In one sense it reflects our need to feel that our actions, needs, and goals align with some form of fulfillment. Or maybe some form of contentment in your life.

Journalist Arthur Brooks wrote about “satisfaction” in an article he wrote in the Atlantic Magazine back in 2022. He aptly titled the article, “How to Want Less.”

In the article, Brooks reveals a real problem with human satisfaction. He says that as we wind our way through life, satisfaction that comes from fulfilling our wishes and expectations, quickly fades. Brooks says, “No matter what we achieve, see, acquire, or do, it seems to slip from our grasp.”

He truly believes that finding satisfaction is the greatest paradox of human life. For we crave it, we believe we can get it, we get a glimpse of it, and maybe even experience it for a brief moment, and then it vanishes. However, we never give up on our quest to get and hold on to it. Brooks then quotes Mick Jagger’s famous line, “I try, and I try, and I try, and I try, but I can’t get no satisfaction.” What Jagger is really saying is I can’t keep no satisfaction.

Though each of us have different dreams, the trap is the same. We believe our dreams will deliver promises of sweet lasting satisfaction; money, recognition, pleasure, and relationships. However, whatever we experience in this life, it provides no lasting satisfaction.

I have two thoughts on this. First, I believe that there is one thing that can grow in richness over time and that is love relationships. Love can grow over time if the relationship is properly nurtured. The problem is that so many relationships, particularly marriage relationships don’t grow. In fact, so many of them wither and end in divorce.

I just looked up the current divorce rate in the United States. For first marriages it is 45%. The divorce rate for second marriages is 65%, and a third marriage has over a 70% chance of divorce. From my perspective, marriage is wonderful but hard, yet it clearly has the potential to contribute to a satisfying life.

In all that I have read about the issue of finding satisfaction, not many people see it as a spiritual issue. Have you considered that maybe this desire for satisfaction is a deep yearning of the soul? The Bible refers to it as a hunger or thirst of the soul. In John 6:35 Jesus says, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger and he who believes in Me will never thirst.”

I think this blog can be summarized from a powerful verse in Jeremiah 2:13. God tells us: “For my people have committed two evils, they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to make for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water.”

God is revealing here that we as humans struggle so much in life because we forsake the fountain of living water and in the process pursue the things of this world and construct a strategy for our lives that we hope will satisfy our longings. However, when we do this we have actually constructed vessels that are broken and can hold no water. This in turn leaves us continually thirsty, continually searching, continually longing and we don’t know why our thirst is never satisfied.

Richard E Simmons III is the founder and Executive Director of The Center for Executive Leadership and a best-selling author.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

July 10, 2025

How Do You See Other People?

Next Post

July 25, 2025 The Law of Returns

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Character Development Inspiration Leadership Life Purpose Personal Growth Relationships Seeking God Spiritual Truth The Bible True Masculinity Uncategorized Wisdom

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which prophet was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Elijah Isaiah Jeremiah Elisha