Contentment is leverage. Nobody can dangle a carrot in front of someone who’s already full.

Wanting less is a kind of power, because it removes what can be offered to you. Somebody who needs the raise, the approval or the invitation can be moved by whoever controls it, while somebody genuinely fine either way cannot be steered the same way. Contentment is not passivity, it is being hard to purchase.

Work out what you already have enough of and say so to yourself plainly. Then notice where you are still hungry, because that is where you are movable. Being honest about both is what stops either from being used on you.