Hello SIZ Chums!
We try to measure anything we can, to compare ourselves with everybody else in the world. We want to earn more money, own more things, be more respected, get more followers on YouTube and more likes on Instagram.
To sum it up, we think more is better and that's why it's never enough for us. But where does this come from, and how much is actually enough?
Global Economy's Revolution over the past years
Let's jump back and take a look at the global economy in the last 2,000 years. From year 1 AD, our economy stayed more or less the same, but in 1870, things started to take a turn. After that, the curve began to rise higher and higher until we got where we are today.
In the last 150 years, the average GDP per capita grew by a factor of more than 10, and with that curve, our need for law also grew. Our modern world is driven by capitalism.
Our society praises those who get up at 5 in the morning and work 80 plus hours a week; the ones who make the most money live in the biggest houses and own the nicest cars.
Work Every Waking Hour
That's the advice one of the most respected entrepreneurs gave to a group of students
7 days a week; all the time
We feel obligated to work really hard, and maybe one day we can be up there with them too- along with this economic growth, our consumption also started to skyrocket. And it became normal to over saturate our needs by buying more products.
We throw away more foods than we would need to feed the world's starving population. Isn't that just crazy?
We got greedy, and we lost our understanding of it.
We often find ourselves trapped in this race of becoming more successful, and with that comes a strong pressure to deliver more than what's good for us. The steeper the curve became, the harder it got to keep up with the competition and live up to our own expectations.
We started to work harder, put in long hours, and ultimately burn out. To justify this extreme work ethic, our society created the mindset of hustle, to work hard non-stop in the face of discomfort to achieve your goals.
So every single day, we get up and try to work as hard as we can towards that goal, even if it means compromising our health, relationships, and personal aspirations because we have to do long hours and we get stressed out.
There's always something else to do. Right? Especially as a freelancer or as a content creator, there's never really a break, and if you take a break, you most of the time feel guilty about it.
Does achieving one goal can lead you to the next goal?
Most of us don't go to work to earn money and survive but to satisfy other people's expectations to get a better job, earn more money, and ultimately live a better life.
But the thing is that as soon as you reach that goal, you already made up the next one in your mind. That's just how our brains work.
let's say, for example; you had the goal to earn 1 million dollars as soon as you reach that goal; you're probably going to be happy for a couple of days; celebrating with your friends, but pretty quickly you're going to realize
“I actually need two million dollars."
And that's the thing this necessity for more just never really stops.
The way to happiness is not one straight line to the top, and as soon as we reach it, everything is perfect. However, after reaching the first goal comes a second one, a third one, etc. Ultimately, there is no top.
There's not really such thing as making it because our brains are just hardwired to strive for more, and they're never really satisfied with anything we achieve.
Ryan Holliday's Quote
Ryan Holliday has a really good quote.
“the need for progress can be the enemy of enjoying the process.”
This is 100 percent true. Maybe you’d relate find yourself in situations where you just have a lot of fixed goals for the future and things that you want to accomplish, but then you just forget about enjoying the process.
You’re rushing through all of your projects because you want to get it done as fast as possible to reach that goal.
I think we shouldn't be rushing through our lives just in return for this bright future, and we might have someday, but instead, we should strive to be happier in our current situation. We should train our minds to be more growth-oriented instead of goal-oriented.
How much is enough?
Enough is a mindset. You can never really have enough by just getting more external accomplishments, but instead, you have to change your internal way of thinking, mindset.
Ask yourself what you already have and what you always had. Every single one of us already has so much, but we just struggle to see it. We have relationships, families, and all those unforgettable experiences.
Isn't that worth so much more than money, fame, or material objects?
You don't have to live up to anybody else's expectations, and you also don't owe anything to this world. And there's no pressure on you. You can basically just do whatever you want to do, and I can tell you that
You're enough the way you are right now, not in the future, not in the past but just this present moment.
How can you implement this idea in your life?
So you might wonder how you can take action right now to find out what's enough for you and implement this idea in your life? And the best place to start is your job. You don't necessitate to work long hours to be successful and make a lot of money. However, it would be best if you worked smart and stay consistent.
You have to define for yourself what's enough for you to live a happy life, and you can do that by answering the following two questions:
With these things in mind, you should now try to find a balance between them. If you already earn more money, then you need to feel comfortable. On the other hand, you can just ask your boss to cut back on the hours to have more time for other things.
And on the other hand, if you have a lot of free time, but you feel like your money is limiting you, you can just ask for more work or just get a second job.
Try to maximize your life and not your income.
Somebody who knows that what he has is enough doesn't lack anything, and doesn't feel like he's falling behind in life. But instead, he can enjoy his work and spend more time with other things that bring joy to his life.
No ceaseless wanting, no insecurity of comparison, just feeling satisfied with yourself and your world.
Over to You!
I hope you enjoyed reading this article and that I could give you a better understanding of what's enough and how you can implement it in your life.
Personally, it was a really big topic during the last couple of days because it's just something that I want to get better at in my life. I'm just so much in the future with my head that I struggle just to enjoy the moment right now.
So that's why I wanted to explore this topic, and that's it for now. I hope you guys have a beautiful time and I'll see you in the next article
Image Credits: shutterstock.com
I would like to appreciate these Honorable Steemians for always supporting us.
This is not a tutorial
You should wait for official announcement about demand driven courses and then apply for your course. Then you can start these topics lecture wise.
Thank You
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