Enoughness

How many of your friends and acquaintances would you consider truly content with their lives? Many of us find ourselves surrounded by people who seem to "have it all" yet are constantly anxious, stressed, and/or seem to lack something despite having access to incredible wealth and privilege. Those of us who do not have access to great wealth find ourselves scratching our heads. Why pursue achievement and money if no one seems to be content after having achieved it?

So what is going on?

I have found that the problem lies in the fact that people have not figured out what is "enough" for them. Since no one knows what is "enough" in terms of money, love, adventure, achievement, etc they are continuously searching for more and more. Nothing is ever enough, nothing will satisfy them. Even if they have multiple homes, health, youth, achievements, etc they feel like something is missing and they still have plenty to complain about.

So how do we break out of this trap?

Happier with less

We need to find our level of "enough." What's enough money, enough peace, enough house, enough health, enough leisure? What makes us truly content? Is it status and achievement or quiet moments watching the sunset? What does it cost for us to achieve our level of "enough" and is that cost worth it? Usually to have more money means we need to sell our time. Our time is a non-renewable resource and therefore, we must be very careful with how we use it. We need to make sure that the money we are trading for our time is worth it.

Some of us find that we actually are happier and more content with less. Less house, less striving for achievements, less stress. We are content with a humble home and life if it means constantly chasing a satisfaction that is forever elusive. It may take us a while to realize this since society assumes that everyone wants flashy new things and to continually upgrade their lives. We can get caught up in what society expects of us instead of what truly matters to us.

Finding Our Enoughness

Being rich is not the answer. Riches do not show us what is "enough" or help us live grounded meaningful lives. Money is just a tool to help us meet our basic needs but beyond that, the forever pursuit of more money can be a life sentence of dissatisfaction no matter how much we accumulate. What is your "enough" point? Are you finding yourself perpetually dissatisfied and searching for more and more? Take time to settle down, look inward, and find your "enough" point.