Some people, when I talk about attuning to “enoughness”, misunderstand me as saying, you should be content with the minimum that allows them to get by without dying of hunger.
Nope, nope, nope.
Have you taken a vow of poverty? Have you renounced the world to devote yourself to an ascetic spiritual life?
If not, “enough” means so much more than “the bare minimum you need to not DIE.”
Human beings need food, shelter, clean water, and some clothes that protect us from the elements.
These are the bare minimum that we need to survive.
Let’s say all of humanity — all 8 billion of us — achieved this. Woohoo! That’s an accomplishment, right? Everyone having enough to be materially safe.
But imagine that that’s where it ended. Let’s say no one had the tiniest extra thing more.
You want to paint? Sorry, no paintbrushes for you. You’re not gonna die without it.
You want to form a band with your friends? Sorry, no musical instruments for you. You’re not gonna die without it.
You want to read books of poetry, make sculptures, build a playground for children? You want a hammock for naps, and extra coconut butter to soften your skin and hair? An altar and offerings for your gods? Nope. You’re not gonna die without any of that.
You have enough to survive. Be happy with that.
Would you want to live in that world?
I’m guessing not.
There’s surviving by meeting biological needs.
And then there’s flourishing, by meeting emotional, psychological, aesthetic, relational, and spiritual needs.
I want you to be able to flourish.
When I talk about knowing what is ‘enough’ for you, it’s actually useful to know both numbers.
What is an “enough for sheer survival” number? (That matters.)
And what is an “enough for me to flourish as my fully expressed, most joyful self” number?
Do you need paintbrushes, rose-scented perfumes, weighted blankets, regular trips to the beach, money to help out your friends and family from time to time? Then you gotta factor that into your “enough for flourishing” number.
To be sure, the number is not an easy thing to arrive at.
For about a year now, I’ve been studying myself, me and my family’s basic survival needs, as well as what our needs are for our maximum flourishing.
What exactly does that include? What do those things cost? What if our needs and priorities change? What if this happens? What if that happens?
When you’re trying to plan for future contingencies in an ever-complicated world and/or have dependents, this gets even more hairy.
I still don’t have an exact figure yet.
But, through a whole year of thinking about it and talking to my friends and advisors about it, I have a much clearer sense of what my values are, how to express them through money, and a a better sense of the range of numbers I need to be thinking about.
All of that has directly shaped how I make plans for my business.
And awareness is power.
So I don’t expect you to be able to arrive at a clear-cut number right away.
You will, most likely, have to do some investigation into yourself, your world, and the future you want first.
And it will most likely be a dynamic process, and an ongoing journey of learning and iterating, rather than deciding that a number must be written in stone.
But engaging in that process left me feeling so much more purposeful and empowered about what I’m doing with my money and life.
So, if you resonate, I recommend that for you.
I wish for your survival and safety.
But even more than that, I wish for your flourishing.
Because you get to.
Because you’re worthy of it.