Do you have enough?

Seth Godin sends out a daily newsletter with small snippets of insights and wisdom. Below is what he sent yesterday.

“To feel sufficient, to be satisfied with what we have: Chisoku in Japanese.

Of course, by some measures, there’s never enough. We can always come up with a reason why more is better, or better is better, or new is better or different is better.

Enough becomes a choice, not a measure of science.

The essence of choice is that it belongs to each of us. And if you decide you have enough, then you do.

And with that choice comes a remarkable sort of freedom. The freedom to be still, to become aware and to stop hiding from the living that’s yet to be done.”

Seth Godin

I know this is my newsletter, and maybe it’s crazy to send out someone else’s, but I had to share this with you. When I read it, I felt my body settle.

For me, it was the line that said, “And if you decide you have enough, then you do.”

Because the world is constantly telling us that we don’t. We are being bombarded with messages that we need more, or different, or better clothes, cars, vacations, makeup, toys, cleaners, gadgets, cereals, hotel stays, toothpaste, coffee, furniture, shoes, shampoo, toasters, pens, toilet paper, lawnmowers, barbecues, vitamins…you get the idea.

But what if, for right now, you looked around and could say to yourself, “I have enough.” Because at the core of that message is you ARE enough.

None of that stuff I listed above will make you feel better long term. You may get a temporary jolt, but quickly due to your ability to adjust to a new normal – otherwise known as the hedonic principle. You will lose the pleasure and begin seeking out something else to give you that rush of “new.”

Everything decision you make is a choice. A choice for one thing and the letting go of another. When your choice is stuff, what are you saying no to?