Enough

Humans have a desire for more. More money. More food. More happiness. More life. More recognition. More. Greed is one of the Seven Deadly Sins for a reason. Humans have a tendency to fall into its grasp. The concept of greed is easy to see from an outside perspective. We can easily understand someone as being greedy when we do not have the same circumstances as they do. When it is our own lives, we lack the same sense of clarity. Understanding when we have enough is a grownup decision that many people are not able to see.

Why do some people who make hundreds of millions of dollars commit crimes for more money? Why are they in the news for fraud or insider trading? To nearly everyone else in the world, they have everything they could ever want. They could purchase nearly anything and live any sort of lifestyle they please. The reason they choose to take illicit risks for more money is that they are blinded to the theory of having enough. They are hungry for more, no matter how much money they already have. There is no quenching of their thirst for greed. They do what they can, no matter what, for more. This greed has led to the downfall of so many people, corporations, and even empires across history.

Enough is hard for people to accept because of comparison. If someone makes a couple hundred thousand dollars a year, they will naturally look to the people making a million dollars and want more. The person making a million dollars will look to the athletes making tens of millions of dollars and want more. The athlete making tens of millions will look to the hedge fund manager making hundreds of millions of dollars and want more. There is a never-ending cycle of upward societal comparison if you are in the habit of looking for more. When people look for more, they refuse to realize what they already have. They refuse to accept they have enough.

Acceptance that we have enough leaves future potential out of the equation. It removes the possibility for more, but also removes the risk for what the future could turn into. Realizing we have enough is the safe decision that is not the easy decision. Once we have enough, and accept we have enough, life becomes more peaceful. We are able to appreciate what we have and focus on the important things in life such as spending time with family and creating memories through experiences. What is enough for you just needs to be enough for you, no need to compare to anyone else. Understand this concept to see how wealthy you truly are.