Contentment has a positive and negative perspective when placed along side the concepts framing leadership.

The thought has been expressed in various ways, one of which is to “always be content with where we are, but never who we are.”

The idea is to accept and be content with what we have and where we are in life, but we should always hunger to grow and improve in our personal development.

Concerning contentment as it relates to material possessions, Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying, “Content makes poor men rich and discontent makes rich men poor.”

A little research reveals a host of information regarding an application to personal growth and development as leaders. Several websites focus on the “learning leader.”

There is a place for contentment, but let us never allow contentment to follow a path of complacency and a “comfortable with the status quo” way of thinking.

The spiritual application is related to several passages, such as Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi (Phil. 4:11-12). The contrast in being content or discontent makes the difference in how we approach the future of leadership.