Why “More” Never Feels Like Enough...and What Does

Written by Navin Amarasuriya, CEO of Contentment Foundation.

Growing up in Singapore, I was taught that peace was always just around the corner that each achievement would finally bring rest. A top grade. A promotion. A number in the bank account. But every milestone faded quickly. The moment I arrived at one dream, it quietly shifted into a new goal. The finish line kept moving.I was on the hedonic treadmill: always running, never arriving.

Exploring the Nuances of More 

Contentment is a radical idea in a world rooted in "more". More income, more status, more success. And while ambition can be a one force for progress, science and lived experience show its limits. Viktor Frankl, in Man’s Search for Meaning, argued that our deepest drive isn’t for pleasure (Freud) or power (Adler), but meaning. Many assume that contentment kills ambition but Frankl revealed the opposite: purpose sharpens it.

Ambition born from fear, desire, or comparison breeds endless striving. I've chased promotions, possessions, and praise and was never satisfied. Like drinking saltwater, it cannot quench our deeper thirst. Contentment creates space to question what we truly want from fullness rather than lack. We don't stop striving; we just seek differently with curious clarity, grounded in well explored values, aligned with what truly matters.

What the Research Says

While this data is a little older and the figures are not adjusted for inflation today, a landmark global study in Nature Human Behaviour analyzing 1.7 million people found that life satisfaction increases with income up to about $95,000/year (in 2018). Emotional well-being plateaued even earlier, around $60,000 to $75,000 (Jebb et al., 2018). Beyond that, returns diminished and in some cases, more money correlated with lower happiness. Other studies add more nuance:

• Killingsworth (2021): happiness may rise with income, but the rate slows.

• Rojas (2011): income is a weak predictor of well-being.

• Ferrer-i-Carbonell (2005): how we compare ourselves to others matters as much as what we earn.

Contentment Is the Starting Line

That’s why I serve with the Contentment Foundation where we are dedicated to bringing evidence-based, heart-led well-being practices into classrooms and communities around the world. These tools help educators and schools ground ambition in purpose, strengthening relationships, and cultivating sustainable inner growth.

If you're exploring this intersection between ambition and contentment... I’d love to connect! 👋