“Nothing is enough for the man to whom enough is too little.” —Epicurus
Enough is a freeing concept and a liberating reality.
Those who have accumulated enough are left without wanting. They are no longer required to strive for more. Instead, they live free and content.
Most of us are driven by the desire to own enough physical possessions. This is good and true—to provide for ourselves and our family is a worthy pursuit.
Because of this desire, we spend our days pursuing the increased possession of material goods—both financial and material.
And while there is nothing wrong with this pursuit, I wonder if our culture has unintentionally shifted from the pursuit of enough to the pursuit of excess. Consider the fact that most of us already own enough:
Our roof provides shelter for our entire family. Our rooms are furnished with places to sit and lie. Our dressers are filled with clothes. Our closets are supplied with towels and linens. Our pantries and our freezers are stocked with food. Our toy chests house plenty of toys.
We already have enough.
Unfortunately, we live in a world that constantly redefines this notion of enough:
- 50 years ago, a house of 1,000 square feet was considered enough. Today, the average new home is 2,300 square feet—and still 10% of us rent off-site storage.
- 30 years ago, 1.5 televisions in every home was considered enough. Today, the average American home contains more televisions than people. And when every room is full, the industry begins to redefine enough in terms of size and picture-quality.
- 15 years ago, less than half of American adults owned a cell phone. Today, over 90% of adults own a cell phone—and 70% of 12-year olds.
Advertisers work relentlessly to redefine enough. In a consumer-based society, they are required to do so.
The goal of advertising is to stir within us the thinking that we do not yet own enough. Marketers work to change our attitude about their product or service from “that’s extravagant” to “I want that” to “I need that.”
Once they can convince us we need it, our purchase is just a matter of time. If they can make us believe we don’t have enough until we own their product, they know we will continue to pursue ownership of it.
Our definition of enough has been artificially moved by a self-serving entity. And because our new definition of enough remains unachieved, our ability to enjoy its freedom has been lost.
Once again, we are held in bondage to its pursuit. We spend more of our days pursuing the money to fund the increased possession of material goods. All with the goal of finally attaining enough.
But we already have enough. Once we train ourselves to recognize this truth, we are freed from the pursuit of more, we are liberated from the bondage of discontent, and we begin to experience true freedom in our lives.
Best of all, once we realize we already own enough, we are freed to pursue more worthy endeavors than the accumulation of excess.
I spent this past weekend, both Saturday and Sunday cleaning out my two car garage. For the most part it was a fast process, I had a van backed into it, back opened and it was toss, toss, toss, no we won’t “maybe” need that thing that has been living in the garage for 4 years that we haven’t used, that isn’t a seasonal item or whatever, toss it. Three van loads, totally almost 1000 pounds of “stuff” (Something That Under-minds Family Fun) later, my garage now consist of 4 boxes of holiday decorations (instead of 8), a few yard tolls, one small bin of regular tolls, a freezer, a mower, and two items I am waiting for someone to come gather (an EXTRA washing machine and tires). SO MUCH space left!
Even my two teens were on board. My son would grab a bag or box with his name and go, you know – unless there is something in here you want mom, I don’t even need to open this. I haven’t needed/wanted anything from here in the last two years since I packed this, lets put this in the car for donation. Out of 6 giant bags of stuff animals, ONE dolphin was pulled out and saved by my daughter, the hundreds of others are going to a new home!
It was such a freeing fun time just getting rid of it all!
Now, next time I say, lets clean the garage my kids will go, “seriously, like what do you want us to do, sweep it?” !
Personally, to get enough and be satisfied with your enough, is an impossibility unless you can rid association with those who are keeping score and make obvious what they have, while leaving a strong vibe to what YOU do not. Peer pressure and “he who dies with the most toys wins” are always around to shove it in your face. Their mission is to make you feel poor or inferior. Jettison those folks cold turkey or they will steal your happiness no matter what you have..
I took my first step forward in minimalizing my possessions. Like a lot of people l found it hard to figure out where to begin. I looked around my 1000 sq ft house and decided that the best place to begin is my closets. It took 2 days to go through all my clothes snd it was tough in the beginning to let go. But l filled 4 large bags and 1 box with clothes and shoes and I was pleased with the result: a closet with clothes and shoes that I like and will wear. I am now motivated and ready to continue this journey to peace and tranquility.
I couldn’t agree more with this blog post. My whole life I have been drawn naturally towards Minimalism and discovered the concept of ‘minimising our desires’ in Bali a couple of years ago; however I only discovered the concept of ‘Minimalism’ itself a few weeks ago! It’s been fantastic to discover there is a whole community of like-minded people out there in the world and I have been enjoying reading blog posts such as these. I currently live in a flatting situation with other tenants and really notice the contrasts in our attitudes towards ‘enough’ and consumerism in general. It really shows how far I’ve come in terms of my thinking and minimising my life to make it simpler (less possessions, slowing down by putting a stop to working overtime, being mindful of rushing everyone, saying ‘no’ to things I don’t want to do etc). On the other hand my flatmates are are constantly online shopping, buying new things, upgrading, looking for the newest gadget, going to the mall just to fill in time etc and their bedrooms and closets are heaving, whereas I already feel I have more than enough with my own limited possessions and with that my thinking is changing and I no longer feel an urge to shop. I have even been encouraging my friends to donate un-needed items to charity with me. I will be debt free tomorrow and looking forward to seeing how much I can save with my new thinking/motivations. Experiences (not possessions) here I come! :)
I live in Sweden, and have a small house so I got rid of stuff to make it simple. I pay to the bank, and buy only food and the things we need.
We have one car and go together so we save money, and better for the enviorment. But people aurond me, Want to have bigger house and bigger cars and boats.
Like your post, feels good to now that some more are happier whit less. Pernilla Lindström
I have reached a point in my life that the more things I rid myself of the lighter & more free I feel. It remains a challenge to resist ads for the newest gadgets but thanks for opening my eyes & enlightening my mind to the truth of ” enough is enough ” .
Some people will never be able to fill that personal void. Instead of looking for what is really the issue, they believe they can full that void with material items…I don’t care if its something for a quarter at a garage sale…too many items does not buy happiness.
You said that 90 percent of adults have cell phones but you didn’t take into how many land lines people still have. Yes we have cell phones but most of us have gotten rid of the house phone.
Different country and different culture – but the same urge to accumulate. I live in Sweden in nothern Europe and Im at the beginning of my ‘enough’. I find that following this blog helps ‘infiltrate’ my mind to let go of the excess in my family’s life. I have done the same regarding healthy food and fitness workouts – it has taken 1 year of actively following some renowned blogs (+ lots of my own work of course :) to make those healthy choices without thinking but with happiness and content. My hope and desire is that in 1 years time I will know my ‘enough’ and will make the enough choices without to much struggle. Looking forward to all the coming posts!
With the recomendation of a lovely friend. I am reading “The life changing magic of tidying up” by Marie Kondo
The joy found in letting go of all the things you think you needed, wanted or were given.
Thanking the item for what purpose it served and the freedom to let it go.
Whilst I hear what you are saying Joshua and know that deciding that we have enough and to no longer accumulate material possessions is good for us, I still find a compulsion to shop and accumulate. This also concerns the accumulation of “stuff” that I don’t even need! I think I feel that if I have the disposable income there that I should “dispose” of it. I am struggling to get out of this mind frame at the moment and often find myself lingering in charity shops and clothes stores during lunch hour and weekends just to see if I can find any bargains. If I do, I buy, regardless of whether I need the item or not. I also buy items that I think family/friends may like and gift them with the stuff. I think I comfort myself with knowing that the money I’m spending to purchase this item is going to charity or it was fairly cheap so will not affect my finances badly. I really would love to break the habit but I always feel this compulsive urge to shop and feel so good after I make a purchase! Maybe it’s the power of having the money to be able to buy things, but I just feel so empty when I deprive myself of going to the shops and spending. I have gone through phases where I’ve stopped myself from shopping for months which adversely results in me going on a massive spending spree afterwards! I live in London UK, where fashion and trends are very important and feel that I always have to keep up! However, whilst I buy the latest clothes and all of my wardrobes and drawers are completely full, I only really wear what I find comfortable and that is really only a few of the same garments each week! I really want to break this cycle of accumulating things that I don’t need and of constantly having an urge to go shopping! Whilst I have improved slightly in terms of how much money I spend, by going to charity stores and cheaper clothes stores now rather than expensive high street and designer stores, I still want to eventually kick the habit for good! Small steps I know…and I hope with each day I will continue to slowly change my habits. Say a prayer for me, please, and continue to share your helpful blogs! Ash
Ash,
Here is advice for you, which worked for me:
When you want to buy any new thing, decide what it will replace and what you will get rid off.
Serge
I have adopted a saying from a local nursing home chaplain who regularly thanks the Lord for “The blessing of enough.” Thank you for your blog. It inspires me to press on toward a simpler lifestyle, so that I may redirect precious time on the needs of others.
How many cups can any one drink out of at a time – one. The same goes for most things, we only need one.
I think every person should define “enough” for themselves. I decided to remove a TV from my bedroom because I decided I didn’t need it.
It’s true that we live in a world of constant excess but it all comes down to individuals – there are people who “always want more” and people who “make best with what they’ve got”.
It would be interesting to what other things for which we are always striving for more. Respect? Prestige? Recognition? Love? Safety? A successful marketing too is to build an emotional response to a product or service. The manipulative ones will prey on our fears, essentially telling us that we should worry if we *don’t* have something. So what is the reward we are getting when we buy stuff? Buyer’s remorse comes from buying something but not getting that satisfied feeling that we got what we paid for, probably because we realize what we just bought doesn’t make us as safe, respectable, or prestigious as we had been told. Very interesting. Thank you for the articles.
I agree with so much of what you said, but I also think it misses the point just a bit for those who perhaps don’t have enough. As I work with children who don’t always have a roof over their heads, clothing appropriate for the weather, or food in their pantry, I’ve found that excess isn’t always something in addition to enough, sometimes it is instead of. There are so many people (and not just in Africa) that struggle to have enough but still have the latest pair of Lebrons on their feet.
Your message is clear and true for those with a certain level of financial security. For the rest of us, it’s important to remember that letting go of excess is the only path to enough.
I’ve noticed many people I know in the “baby boomer” age are downsizing and getting rid of stuff. Its kind of interesting that we spent the first part of our lives accumulating and the second half trying to get rid of it. Think of all the money that could have been saved! I am going through bins and bins of stuff that doesn’t fit in my new house now and just giving it to Goodwill and such places. I am doing this also so my kids don’t have to deal with it later. My daughter said it will be tossed out anyway because she doesn’t like clutter and is not sentimental with things, which is good.
What is it that you love? BrownVagabonder posted that her battle with material desire (non-quote) is a lifetime endeavor. Except for the truly content I doubt that any of us living amongst the billboards will truly be free of material desire once and for all. But in my own experience pursuing an acceptable level of minimalism has been possible only after realigning personal priorities based on what it is that I love. When one loves the world and all that’s in it, his or her immediate and distant family and generally extracts pleasure from an appreciation of what lies under the blue skies; he or she will realize what it is that is important in life. It is at that time that the battle against depleting our check books in favor of clutter that’s cool today and forgotten tomorrow becomes second nature. Learn to love the real and you’ll find that rejecting that which doesn’t promote your love for what’s real is no battle at all.
I want to remember the last line of your post & carry it with me, it touched me deeply .
The article and follow up comments all hit home. Enough indeed. We have been slowly getting rid of stuff over the years, but it’s so tough to part with the ‘this may be needed someday’ objects. But I’m trying…
Thanks for your continued motivation through it all!
This post reminds me of the excellent book titled “Enough” by Will Davis Jr. We recently moved from a 2,000 square foot, 3 car garage home to an 845 sqare foot, 1 car garage home. We got rid of about half of what we owned, the rest we packed into the garage, shed and roof. We’ve started with the bare essentials in our new space, and the longer I’m there, the more I find I don’t want all that I have stored to make it into the house. Even to store it seems like hoarding when it could fill a need for someone else, so we continue to pass on what we aren’t finding functional. I so appreciate the encouragement from this blog!