Contentment

My thoughts today have been on contentment, or rather my lack-there-of.  I have been discontented for years really.  I tend to blame this on my situation in life, but the more I think about it, the more I realize that my situation should have nothing to do with this.  Contentment. Real, true, genuine contentment doesn't come from the things that go on around me.  The circumstances around me can influence my contentment but  they do not dictate my contentment.  This is an important truth for one to grasp when coming to terms with being content.  From what I have learned in life, contentment comes from within. It is a peace that I have that comes from taking a step back and choosing how I react and how I feel.  You cannot always determine your emotions, but just as the external inputs can affect your contentment, so too can your internal inputs affect contentment.  The art of contentment therefore is developing your internal inputs to be greater than your external inputs.  This is how you can gain control of your own contentment.  It's far easier said than done.  It is possible though and I think that it is something that is perfected over time. My only qualm with this is that the greater your negative external inputs that affect your contentment, the greater your internal inputs must be to remain content under duress. Additionally the more you must disconnect yourself emotionally so you do not react on emotion alone but rather emotional logic (emotional intelligence).  If you are in a very stressful relationship you have to disconnect yourself emotionally to be able to be content.  As far as I am concerned this is an emotional fact and part of my quandary.  Because to be emotionally content I do not want to be disconnected...for this reason I would have to excise that which I am disconnecting from for contentment.  I am just not ready to do that.