The importance of enough

The minister and the monk

Once upon a time, there were two young boys who were classmates and friends. As they grew up, they lost touch. One became an important, wealthy minister and advisor to the king while the other became a monk.

One day, as the minister was walking with his entourage through the city market, he saw a poor monk holding out a begging bowl in search of food. As the minister drew closer to give alms, he recognized the monk as his old childhood classmate and friend. While he was happy to see his old friend again, he was distraught to see him living in such poverty. As the minister leaned in to make an offering, he couldn’t help sigh: “If only you had learned to advise the king, then you wouldn’t have to live in this state.”

To this, the monk replied: “If only you had learned to live on a simple bowl of rice porridge, then you wouldn’t have to kowtow to the king.”    

Enough is as much about values as needs

In 1998, I love this short story, because it does a wonderful job of illustrating that enough is dictated as much by our values as our needs. The minister valued money, power and status and so opted for a profession that rewarded him richly in the things that he held dear – worldly success. In return, he traded in his freedom by consigning himself to the beck and call and bidding of the king. The monk, on the other hand, valued a life of solitude, contemplation and freedom from worldly cares and responsibilities (e.g., job, family, status). In return, he could be satisfied with a simple bowl of porridge.

Balancing our needs with our values

 For the majority of us (including me), the target life style is somewhere between the materialism of the minister and the asceticism of the monk. Research shows that for the average American happiness plateaus after reaching an annual income of $75K as much of our needs are met at that point. As for retirement savings, the Trinity study has shown that saving a portfolio of stocks and bonds that’s 25-30 times our annual expense should be enough to sustain us for at least 40 years – an 86 percent probability of success. (Read How much is enough.)

Why then do we strive for more? There a host of personal and social reasons. Perhaps we grew up poor and vowed to never return to that state again. Or, we want to give our children things we didn’t have. Or, we want to give our children a leg up in the world. Or, we want social validation that we, indeed, are successful. Or, perhaps we simply want to outdo our peers. Whatever our reasons may be, no doubt there are elements from our past that influence our decisions and actions.

The importance of enough

We live in a world that values and promotes more rather than enough. More represents productivity and progress. Within this striving ethos, enough serves as a vital counterbalance. First, it helps curtail greed. Without a strong sense of enough, ambition can run amok and wreak havoc on our personal, social and natural world. Think divorces, income inequality, and climate warming. If we don’t have a sense of enough, then no amount of money will be enough.

Second, enough helps us redirect our energy and effort towards things for which we are most passionate. Oftentimes, such work coincides with what the world needs. Rather than do work that we feel we have to, we can begin to do work that we want to.  The latter is more true to who we are and can serve as an important inspiration for others.

Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. (Howard Thurman)  

Third, when we feel that we have enough, we are more inclined to see beyond our personal needs, cares and concerns and begin to focus on those of our neighbors. Rather than investing in just ourselves, we begin to invest in our community.

Rethinking enough

While it’s important to fulfill our responsibilities to ourselves and our families, it’s also important to know when we have enough. And, that threshold is far lower than what most people think. However, in recognizing and cultivating a mindset of enough, we open ourselves to doing work that brings deeper satisfaction and joy. Additionally, we begin to be of service to others rather than just ourselves. Interestingly, an enough mindset opens us to pursue a lifestyle that is just as vital to our health and wealth: meaningful work and community.

When we realize that we have enough, we also realize that there is enough for everyone.