When you’ve won the game, stop playing - William Bernstein
Words that are synonymous with enough in the context of this article are peace and contentment. Are you at peace with the habits you’ve developed and the life that you live? Are you at peace with the trajectory of your life?
Enough effort may be defined as an effective dose. Not too little, not too much, just right. Sometimes none of something is the correct dose for what you need. There is enough effort when it comes to studying for a test. There is enough effort when training for a competition. You can be strong and in-shape enough for the short and long term demands of your life. There is a certain number of people that you need unconditional love from to have enough. Enough is … enough. I prefer the term enough to balance. If you’re putting a ton of effort into a business project, but you’ve set appropriate boundaries to still take care of yourself and your relationships it may be ok. That might be the right dose of effort given the broader goals you hope to accomplish within this lifetime.
Excess is waste. Excess tends to be more of a first world problem than scarcity. Excess can be putting an over abundance of your energy into one aspect of your life. It really doesn’t matter what example is used for too much energy - work, training, dysfunctional relationships, perfectionist tendencies. Thinking about what areas in your life you’re spending too much time on for a marginal benefit can free up a lot of time and energy to dedicate to an outside interest. Or maybe some of that time can be spent on resting, gratitude, connecting, recovery, and giving back.
What do you do when you get to a point where you don’t need more? Most people may never get to this point. Most people need to start moving, start saving, start developing relationships, and start doing what they like. There is no guilt involved with not putting forth more effort if the results for the additional work are marginal. The effort should match the result of which you seek to obtain. You have an understanding that you’re unwilling to put in more or less effort into a certain aspect of your life.
We overestimate the amount we can accomplish in a day, and underestimate the amount we can accomplish in a year. Expanding your timeline to reach your goals can buy you more time on a daily basis. You have to recover from a stressor in order to improve.
There are seasons and chapters in our lives. There are times to push like hell. There are times to focus more on relationships and family. There are times to push your body as hard as possible. There are times to seek and be creative. There are times to dial it back. Maybe the hardest part of Enough is recognizing that you probably already have it.
Reasonable books on this topic are What Happens When You Get What You Want by Dr. Rick Eigenbrod and Enough by Jack Bogle.
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