How to be Content?

Is it easier to be content if we are never given something more? Akakiy is perfectly content with his coat that needed patching, but when he was given something new, suddenly, anything less than that beautiful new coat is unacceptable and leads to unhappiness. This causes me to ask the question..God gives and takes away.. if we can be content with what we have, if God gives us more, we may not be greedy but we will now be content with the new things God has given us..BUT, if God takes those things away, can we still be as content as we were before we were ever given anything new? or is our threshold for contentment raised to a higher level now?