Coveting and Contentment

Coveting, an older churchy Bible word that means 'to really want something.' Coveting is not something bad in itself, you can covet good things and bad things, in good ways and bad ways. People have come up to me saying, "I covet your prayers," meaning they would really appreciate it if I prayed for them. Often though, coveting is used in a more negative way, in the way God uses it in the last commandment, "You shall not covet......" in wanting something that someone else has and you don't. But what's wrong with wanting something that someone else has? Isn't that the motivation behind working harder so you can get it for yourself? Isn't that the foundation of the Canadian (American) dream; always looking to achieve or get more: a bigger house, better job, cottage, whatever? Though I can see that if you covet your neighbour's wife or husband it's rather negative and I feel really bad for your spouse, you're not supposed to be trying to get yourself a new spouse when you already have one. But why would God tell us that a strong motivating emotion like coveting is wrong if it makes us work harder?
I believe the reason God takes such a strong stand against coveting is the tendency we have to make gods out of the things we really want. We aren't very good at keeping things in balance or perspective, and coveting feeds that part of our hearts that says, "more, more, me, me..." and forgets what God has already given and blessed us with. Coveting makes it really hard to be content and appreciate what you already have. It takes your eyes off of God and his desire for us and sets our eyes on ourselves instead. Contentment is the counter to coveting, and contentment is hard to learn, hard to embrace when all around you the mantra is to work harder to get more, to get more because you deserve it.
So how do you practice contentment, or do you think it's rather foolish and simply an excuse for lazy people to slack off? Personally, the more I work at keeping my focus on God and what I already have, the more I'm experiencing contentment and God's joy and happiness in the family, work and things I have, and the more I want to be a blessing to others. Try it, it's life changing!