An ‘Enough Mindset’ is about understanding what ‘enough’ of something is for us, so we can know when we’ve reached our goals, concentrate on contentment, and put a stop to our endless quest for ‘something more’.
An Enough Mindset can be applied in all areas of life:
- Do I need to up my salary, or have I got enough money?
- Do I need to buy this food item/piece of clothing/thing for my house, or have I got enough?
- Do I need to be the perfect partner/parent/child/student/employee/boss, or am I doing enough?
How could the Enough Mindset change us?
- Becoming more conscious about whether we’re working towards goals, so we’re not working towards something we haven’t actively decided we need or want
- Gaining more time to focus on the things that matter to us
- Consuming less, helping the planet and other people
- Taking better care of what we put in our bodies
- Being kinder to ourselves
Working ‘constantly wanting more’ out of my system
I first started exploring the idea of enough after moving from the UK to Ecuador, and realising the contentment I was finding in a society with more limited options. But, for me, it wasn’t simply about minimalism or renouncing things – living in Ecuador brought many challenges, it would be insensitive to idealise a situation where many live in poverty. I was in a privileged position of comfort, albeit one with less distractions and choices, and this felt good to me, once I got the ‘constant want’ out of my system.
For this reason, I don’t like the idea of thinking in black-and-white terms of “shoulds” – you should buy less, you should work less, you should eat less – how much we want to do something is a personal choice. ‘Enough’ does mean that we stop fetishizing excess, but it is only ‘minimal’ if you decide it is.
Enough is personal.
I’m working out my ‘enoughs’. And, honestly – as you’ll see in my previous post – I’m struggling with some of them too. This ain’t easy, so I’m gonna be working them out for some time.
How do you define yours?