Article By Kevin L. DeWitt

 

The idea of “enough.”  It’s one of the most important concepts in our lives.  Often we want more than we have now.  I have been guilty of it most of my life.  I still am … however I am working on it.

 

More money, more toys, better furniture, a bigger/better house, more or better cars, more clothes, more success …

 

And what happens when we get more?  Mostly we aren’t satisfied.  There are ads for new cars (“we’ll even make your payment if you lose your job”!), new computers, new cell phones, new clothes.  There are entire television channels dedicated to selling you more stuff or to making you think what you have is not good enough.  It’s impossible to satisfy that hunger for more, because our culture is not satisfied with what we have.  We are wired to want more.

 

Ask yourself how much is enough.  How much do you need in order to be satisfied? I suggest that the answer is that most of us (including me) already have enough … possibly more than enough.

 

So … what does “enough” mean? 

 

Enough doesn’t mean the just bare necessities of life … food, water, shelter and clothing.  It could be a house with a bed, a table, a chair, a place to store food and prepare it, a toilet, perhaps a shower. That’s not really enough.  Enough means having enough to live, and enough to be happy, and enough to thrive.

 

Since I get happiness from writing, I may need a computer.  Perhaps I could use the public library’s computer, but in any case “enough” would include some access to a computer.  For others, enough would mean the need for tools such as a notebook and pens, musical instruments, video technology, or a camera.  Enough would also mean food beyond just survival food … food that makes us happy, but not so much food that we are being excessive and gorging ourselves.  Enough could include cars … which unfortunately are necessary in most places in America.  However for some people it wouldn’t necessarily mean owning a car, especially if they don’t have kids and live close enough to the things they need, such as a grocery store or work.

 

Enough could also include watching movies, if that makes you happy. It could any number of other things.  It is not about being judgmental and imposing what we think enough is for you.  It’s about you as an individual, your happiness, and what is enough for you.

 

Consider the following when thinking about the concept of enough, and how it applies to your life:

 

1. What are the main things that make you happy?  Are they material things?  Are they people?  Are they certain activities?  Knowing the answer to this question can give you some insight into what material things you actually need beyond the bare necessities in order to be happy.

 

2. What do you need to thrive?  You don’t want to just survive, you want to thrive.  You want to be good at what you do.  You want to do what you love.  You want to be passionate about the things you do, and be successful at them.  What do you need in order to do that?  How many tools or material things do you need to thrive?

 

3. What do you need to survive at a comfortable level?  You need to survive.  But you don’t want to be miserable as you survive.  A comfortable bed is probably important, but how many extra trimmings does that bed need in order to be comfortable?  For example, how nice (i.e. expensive) do the sheets need to be?  Think about your ideas of comfort and then see what’s really necessary.  Sometimes you’ll realize that only a small number of things are actually needed for real comfort.

 

4. What do you have beyond those things needed for survival, comfort, happiness, and thriving? Look around you and think about everything in your home.  How much of it goes beyond these things that comprise the idea of “enough”?  Do you really need them or do they go beyond enough?

 

5. What do you desire that goes beyond enough? We all want things we don’t have.  What are they and are they needed to have “enough”?  Ask yourself why you want them.  Ask yourself if you really can be happy, comfortable, and thriving without them? If the answer is yes, then how can you give up wanting for those things?

 

6. If you didn’t want to have more than enough, could you work less?  Do you really need to work the number of hours you do every week?  Are you working in a job your dislike because it pays more than the job you really want?  Or is it to support a lifestyle that includes more than enough?  If you didn’t spend so much money on a lifestyle that goes beyond “enough,” perhaps you wouldn’t need as many hours, or could change jobs and do what you love.

 

7. If you worked less, could you be happy with enough, and happier doing other things? If you didn’t have to work as much you might be happy with just enough.  You might enjoy working less. 

 

It’s something to think about…

 

“We all have the means to bestow on others the most lavish gifts; love, joy, peace, hope, kindness, acceptance, encouragement, laughter, forgiveness, time.  There is not enough money to buy them and not too little money to give them.  The more you spend, the wealthier you become; yet nothing will cost you more than what you freely possess to give.”
-Eden Eliot

 

Credit: Your Money or Your Life

 

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