What Is 'Enough'?
The alarm goes off, you open your eyes and the first thought that crosses your mind is ‘I didn’t get enough sleep.’ You get up, shower, and get dressed, maybe if you didn’t oversleep you have a moment to grab breakfast before you start to think about your day. Then another thought crosses your mind; ‘there isn’t enough time.’
The day continues and more ‘not enough’s come. We are surrounded by our thoughts and conversations about what we don’t have enough of. Not enough exercise. Not enough work. Not enough rest. Not enough fresh air. Not enough profits. Not enough power. Not enough money. We are not thin enough, smart enough, funny enough, successful enough.
Before we even start our day we are already behind, we are already inadequate, not enough. We rush through the day trying to tick off all the things on the list and we go to bed at night with thoughts of how we didn’t get enough done. The alarm goes off and the cycle starts again.
Maybe all days aren’t like that – maybe I’m exaggerating for effect – but I know that these thoughts are ones I recognise in my life even if they are not there all the time.
What can we do about it?
So we are set up and in a routine of noticing what we don’t have enough of – but what do you have enough of? Seriously make a list – take a moment to take in what you do have enough of in your life (and not like ‘I’ve had enough of your moaning to last a lifetime!)
Don’t just sit there reading – get to that list! Do you have enough of what’s important to you? What is it that you want out of life?
What are your values?
When was the last time you sat down and really thought about that?
Maybe you value adventure – what does adventure mean to you? How can you have more of it in your life? Does it have to cost money? Are you directing your money towards fulfilling that value?
Maybe you value freedom, what does that look like to you? If you had to rate your freedom on a scale of 1 to 10 what would you score? What could you do right now in your life to move the score just one higher?
Whatever you value – generosity, hope, harmony – get to know them, you’ll know when they are out of whack, you’ll have some sort of sign of discomfort – overwhelm, stress, tiredness, apathy, start to notice these things as signals.
Does more money make you happy?
I would say that there are many wealthy people out there who are deeply unhappy, so no I don’t believe that money makes you happy. I would add though that the way we have constructed our society money does make it easier to fulfil on your most basic needs of food, shelter and safety. So lack of money for basic needs can cause huge stress and anxiety.
There are however resourceful ways to meet some of those basic needs, especially in a short term crisis, if you are fortunate enough to live in a close-knit supportive community.
Value experiences above things
The value of things fade as soon as we have them, they are no longer new or shiny and, especially in the case of technology, probably out of date before the end of the week.
Experiences don’t have to cost money – they can be micro moments – the memories that we have of our holidays, breathtaking landscapes, laughing with our friends, watching the kids run round in circles till they are so dizzy they fall over, when you giggled with your cousin in English class for so long that your face hurt. They stay with us continue to give, enriching our lives over time.
So what is enough?
I don’t know, but you do! Somewhere in your inner wisdom you know what will make you happy and fulfilled you might just have to take some time to tune in and listen.
Hi there I’m Gail Bainbridge - money coach and mentor. I am on a mission to transform our relationships with money. I teach people to find money that they didn’t know they had for the things that are important to them. If you enjoyed this blog sign up to my newsletter to be the first to read all my money musings.