There’s a trap many of us fall into where we end up spending our entire lives reaching for something we can never attain.
I’m talking about our constant pursuit for more.
So many of us live our lives always longing for more: more money, more home, more status, more likes, more success.
We believe that if we have a little more, we will finally be happy.
But the very nature of “more” is perpetually elusive. Constantly needing more to be happy is like chasing the proverbial carrot just out of reach… or a mirage that recedes as we approach it.
Because when more becomes the goal, we’ll never get there… the finish line always moves away from us.
Rarely do we stop long enough to consider “how much do I need to be happy?” How much money, how much house, how expensive a car, how many pairs of shoes?
Very few people sit long enough to answer that question.
Instead, we just assume, for one reason or another, that “more than I have now” is the right answer.
But here’s the problem: We can never arrive at contentment if more is always required to achieve it.
The relentless pursuit of ‘more’ obscures our arrival at ‘enough.‘ When we constantly focus on all the things we don’t have, we lose sight of all that we already have.
This may not be true in every situation, but many of us reading this article today are already living with more than we had before. What we have now is what we used to think would make us happy.
But even in those circumstances, our internal motivation (encouraged by society around us) is to continue desiring more, and more, and more.
We devalue what we already have, blinded by the allure of what we don’t. And our existing blessings get overlooked by the race for ‘more.’
As we continually run after ‘more,’ we lose sight of ‘enough.’
Even worse, this pursuit of ‘more’ cultivates a sense of lack, a feeling of insufficiency, an ingrained discontent in our heart. Our desire for more whispers that we haven’t accumulated enough for ourselves yet—and it turns our passions inward and self-focused.
The more we want, the less we feel we have.
But what if we shifted our perspective? What if we stopped chasing ‘more’ and started acknowledging ‘enough’? What if we recognized that contentment isn’t about acquiring more, but appreciating what we already have?
A whole new way of life would open for each of us.
So let’s redefine our pursuits. Let’s realign our measure of success. Let’s learn to count differently. And let’s aim for ‘enough’ instead of ‘more.’
Just to be clear, this article isn’t about settling for less in life, it’s about understanding the value of contentment and the ambition that accompanies it.
Consider how your attitude, your days, and your pursuits would change if we stopped setting ‘more’ as the goal and began recognizing that we already have ‘enough.’
Do you have food on your table and a roof over your head? Are there clothes in your closet? Do you have love in your life and opportunity to serve others? If so, maybe you already have all that you need to be happy.
And removing the unquenchable desire for more may be the most life-giving decision you make today.
Enough is a reachable destination. More is a journey with no end.
