--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Never be discontent with the life you've…" description: "\"Never be discontent with the life you've been dealt, be discontent with the way you're living it.\" — Mike Donehey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb5/mike-donehey-33472_discontent_never-be-discontent-with-the-life-you-ve_1629715.png" --- # Never be discontent with the life you've been dealt, be… ![“Never be discontent with the life you've been dealt, be discontent with the way you're living it.” quote by Mike Donehey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb5/mike-donehey-33472_discontent_never-be-discontent-with-the-life-you-ve_1629715.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb5/mike-donehey-33472_discontent_never-be-discontent-with-the-life-you-ve_1629715.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb5/mike-donehey-33472_discontent_never-be-discontent-with-the-life-you-ve_1629715.png) > “Never be discontent with the life you've been dealt, be discontent with the way you're living it.” [Mike Donehey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-donehey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Encourage continual dissatisfaction with one's current life circumstances to motivate change. **In simple terms:** Be unhappy with how you live, not with your life. Key Takeaway Seek improvement, not complacency. Themes self-improvement motivation change Mood determined reflective Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - career change - relationship reevaluation - health habits - creative pursuits Key Concepts personal growth mindset shift Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of your life need change? - How can dissatisfaction be constructive? A Different Perspective Contentment can lead to stagnation if not paired with action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discontent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discontent/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [Another sort of false prayers are our regrets. Discontent is the way of self-reliance: it is infirmity of will. Regret calamities, if you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-sort-of-false-prayers-are-our-regrets-discontent-is-the-way/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“For years of mornings, I have woken wanting to die. Life itself twists into nightmare. 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Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [I grieve and dare not show my discontent, I love and yet am forced to seem to hate, I do, yet dare not say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-i/i-grieve-and-dare-not-show-my-discontent-i-love-and-yet-am-forced-to/) [Elizabeth I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-i/) > [You can spend your whole life complaining about how much you hate life or you can spend it finding new ways to love it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/you-can-spend-your-whole-life-complaining-about-how-much-you-hate/) [Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [“And since he was seeing more and more people who were unhappy for no apparent reason, he was becoming more and more tired, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/and-since-he-was-seeing-more-and-more-people-who-were-unhappy-for-no/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [While the principles of our Constitution give just latitude to inquiry, every citizen faithful to it will deem embodied expressions of discontent and open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/while-the-principles-of-our-constitution-give-just-latitude-to/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Any writer worth his salt writes to please himself...It's a self-exploratory operation that is endless. An exorcism of not necessarily his demon, but of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/any-writer-worth-his-salt-writes-to-please-himself-it-s-a-self/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I am profoundly in the D's - discouraged, depressed, disheartened, disgusted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-dunbar-nelson/i-am-profoundly-in-the-d-s-discouraged-depressed-disheartened/) [Alice Dunbar Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-dunbar-nelson/) > [“Comparison with myself brings improvement, comparison with others brings discontent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-jamie-chung/comparison-with-myself-brings-improvement-comparison-with-others/) [Betty Jamie Chung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-jamie-chung/) > [The oppressed without hope are mysteriously quiet. When the conception of change is beyond the limits of the possible, there are no words to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-rowbotham/the-oppressed-without-hope-are-mysteriously-quiet-when-the-conception/) [Sheila Rowbotham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-rowbotham/) > [“She was tired of the flaming thoughts of discontent that kept her awake at night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-gaffney/she-was-tired-of-the-flaming-thoughts-of-discontent-that-kept-her/) [Virginia Gaffney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-gaffney/) > [For a successful revolution it is not enough that there is discontent. What is required is a profound and thorough conviction of the justice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-r-ambedkar/for-a-successful-revolution-it-is-not-enough-that-there-is-discontent/) [B. R. Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## More by Mike Donehey > [You can't live for God until you learn how to live because of God. And you can't go and make good choices for God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-donehey/you-can-t-live-for-god-until-you-learn-how-to-live-because-of-god-and/) [Mike Donehey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-donehey/) > [“We do battle with our minds and deceptive hearts, that we may might lay our souls down upon the grace of God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-donehey/we-do-battle-with-our-minds-and-deceptive-hearts-that-we-may-might/) [Mike Donehey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-donehey/) > [You can’t live for God until you learn how to live because of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-donehey/you-can-t-live-for-god-until-you-learn-how-to-live-because-of-god/) [Mike Donehey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-donehey/) > [Anything that I want, I must also be ok with not having, otherwise it's idolatry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-donehey/anything-that-i-want-i-must-also-be-ok-with-not-having-otherwise-it-s/) [Mike Donehey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-donehey/) > [“There is no longer a fight between the secular and the sacred. If the Spirit dwells in us, then whether it be school or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-donehey/there-is-no-longer-a-fight-between-the-secular-and-the-sacred-if-the/) [Mike Donehey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-donehey/) > [Only when we try to love God will we see our utter inability to do so. And only when we understand that inability, will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-donehey/only-when-we-try-to-love-god-will-we-see-our-utter-inability-to-do-so/) [Mike Donehey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-donehey/) > [Christianity is not about how much faith you have. It's about Who your faith is in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-donehey/christianity-is-not-about-how-much-faith-you-have-it-s-about-who-your/) [Mike Donehey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-donehey/) > [“Let yourself go. Let others in. This is the essence of being made in God's image.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-donehey/let-yourself-go-let-others-in-this-is-the-essence-of-being-made-in/) [Mike Donehey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-donehey/) > [Christianity was never meant to be a belief system, it’s meant to be an encounter with a person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-donehey/christianity-was-never-meant-to-be-a-belief-system-it-s-meant-to-be/) [Mike Donehey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-donehey/) > [“God's nature is love, because God is a relationship.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-donehey/god-s-nature-is-love-because-god-is-a-relationship/) [Mike Donehey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-donehey/) > [After all, it's me that needs to change, not my circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-donehey/after-all-it-s-me-that-needs-to-change-not-my-circumstances/) [Mike Donehey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-donehey/) > [Good Friday was the worst Friday until Sunday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-donehey/good-friday-was-the-worst-friday-until-sunday/) [Mike Donehey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-donehey/) > [“When we ask God to draw near, what we're really asking is for Him to make us aware of Him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-donehey/when-we-ask-god-to-draw-near-what-we-re-really-asking-is-for-him-to/) [Mike Donehey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-donehey/) > [It’s not about what we do, or what we feel, it’s about what He did and what He felt. It’s about what Christ has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-donehey/it-s-not-about-what-we-do-or-what-we-feel-it-s-about-what-he-did-and/) [Mike Donehey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-donehey/) [Explore all 15 Mike Donehey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-donehey/) ## More Discontent quotes > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [For a successful revolution it is not enough that there is discontent. What is required is a profound and thorough conviction of the justice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-r-ambedkar/for-a-successful-revolution-it-is-not-enough-that-there-is-discontent/) [B. R. Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) > [“She was tired of the flaming thoughts of discontent that kept her awake at night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-gaffney/she-was-tired-of-the-flaming-thoughts-of-discontent-that-kept-her/) [Virginia Gaffney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-gaffney/) > [The oppressed without hope are mysteriously quiet. When the conception of change is beyond the limits of the possible, there are no words to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-rowbotham/the-oppressed-without-hope-are-mysteriously-quiet-when-the-conception/) [Sheila Rowbotham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-rowbotham/) > [“Comparison with myself brings improvement, comparison with others brings discontent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-jamie-chung/comparison-with-myself-brings-improvement-comparison-with-others/) [Betty Jamie Chung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-jamie-chung/) > [I am profoundly in the D's - discouraged, depressed, disheartened, disgusted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-dunbar-nelson/i-am-profoundly-in-the-d-s-discouraged-depressed-disheartened/) [Alice Dunbar Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-dunbar-nelson/) > [Any writer worth his salt writes to please himself...It's a self-exploratory operation that is endless. An exorcism of not necessarily his demon, but of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/any-writer-worth-his-salt-writes-to-please-himself-it-s-a-self/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [While the principles of our Constitution give just latitude to inquiry, every citizen faithful to it will deem embodied expressions of discontent and open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/while-the-principles-of-our-constitution-give-just-latitude-to/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“And since he was seeing more and more people who were unhappy for no apparent reason, he was becoming more and more tired, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/and-since-he-was-seeing-more-and-more-people-who-were-unhappy-for-no/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [You can spend your whole life complaining about how much you hate life or you can spend it finding new ways to love it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/you-can-spend-your-whole-life-complaining-about-how-much-you-hate/) [Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [I grieve and dare not show my discontent, I love and yet am forced to seem to hate, I do, yet dare not say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-i/i-grieve-and-dare-not-show-my-discontent-i-love-and-yet-am-forced-to/) [Elizabeth I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-i/) > [Upon the profound discontent of the young in every country do I set my faith. I beg you, the young, to be discontented. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/upon-the-profound-discontent-of-the-young-in-every-country-do-i-set/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [Love is maintain'd by wealth: when all is spent, Adversity then breeds the discontent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-herrick/love-is-maintain-d-by-wealth-when-all-is-spent-adversity-then-breeds/) [Robert Herrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-herrick/) > [Everything becomes so problematic because of basic faults: from a discontent with myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-freud/everything-becomes-so-problematic-because-of-basic-faults-from-a/) [Anna Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-freud/) > [“One whisper, Judith, added to a thousand others will become a roar of discontent even”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-garwood/one-whisper-judith-added-to-a-thousand-others-will-become-a-roar-of/) [Julie Garwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-garwood/) [Browse all 450 Discontent quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discontent/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Never be discontent with the life you've been dealt, be discontent with the way you're living it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mike Donehey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-donehey/never-be-discontent-with-the-life-you-ve-been-dealt-be-discontent/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Discontent" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-donehey/never-be-discontent-with-the-life-you-ve-been-dealt-be-discontent/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb5/mike-donehey-33472_discontent_never-be-discontent-with-the-life-you-ve_1629715.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb5/mike-donehey-33472_discontent_never-be-discontent-with-the-life-you-ve_1629715.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb5/mike-donehey-33472_discontent_never-be-discontent-with-the-life-you-ve_1629715.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Never be discontent with the life you've been dealt, be discontent with the way you're living it.” — Mike Donehey", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mike Donehey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-donehey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Never be discontent with the life...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-donehey/never-be-discontent-with-the-life-you-ve-been-dealt-be-discontent/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-donehey/never-be-discontent-with-the-life-you-ve-been-dealt-be-discontent/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```