“Just enough” is all we need!

Bottom line- Basic enough is a necessity!

GUEST COLUMN: Dr. N Prabhudev

Bengaluru, Oct. 14: He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.
• Physiological needs include air, water, food, nutrition, homeostasis and sex.
• Safety needs include shelter, clothes, routine, and familiarity.
• Belonging and love needs like affection, family, friends, and colleagues.
• Esteem needs include self-respect and respect from others, achievement and reputation and prestige.
• Self-actualization needs like self-growth, skill building, and reaching innate potential.
We all share the same needs. You can hit the high ground of enough is enough after you have enough! A key part of the philosophy of ‘enough’ is distinguishing between our needs and wants. Needs are things we can’t live without! Wants, on the other hand, are things we desire but don’t need for survival or even happiness. In a world of excess, it’s easy to blur the lines between wants and needs. What starts as a want quickly becomes a need when we see others possessing it or when marketing messages convince us we can’t live without it?
Enough is a decision, not quantity!
The philosophy of enough is a ‘Mind-set’. In our culture of more, it’s often a challenge to feel truly satisfied. We are constantly chasing after the next big thing, more money, more possessions and more success. Find contentment in what we have- exception is knowledge! Be hungry for knowledge and wisdom!
Human desires are insatiable! The more we have the more we want! Enough is enough is a feeling of contentment! It’s neither a millionaire’s splurge in Los Vegas, nor a pauper’s cold winter night. It means having a roof over your head, food in your belly, friends and family at your back, and money — just enough money in your pockets. Many of us have internalized the idea that bigger is better, that a huge bank balance means status, and that excess means happiness! Often less is really more. Recognize the abundance in our lives.
Money matters!
The want for more never ends.
Money is very important! It is good to have money and the things that it can buy! But it’s good too, to check up once in a while you haven’t lost out on the things money can’t buy. When you have Money with you, you forget who you are! When you do not have money, others forget who you are! Money gives you power, dignity and honour. Money by itself is neither good nor bad. How you use money makes it good or bad. Money is just a tool.
Money can never be the ‘be all and end all of life’. So is everything else! Life is more important! Money makes us feel that we are better and more important than we really are. Money fattens our ago! It has power to bring people together and also tear them apart.
Money is not acknowledged and appreciated the way it should be. Human lives are a tragic enclave of contrasts. There seems to be a statistical disconnect between money and happiness. Once we escape the trap of poverty, levels of wealth have an extremely modest impact on levels of happiness. More money is not more pleasure.
To go after money is greed. To have money and flaunt it is vulgar! To spend it is reckless! But giving it to others in need is dharma and takes you straight to god! In practice there is grudging but overwhelming admiration for those who make lot of money. Society envies you! If you have In addition, good qualities it adores you.
The very notion of ultimate wealth is fallacious and misconceived.
• When you are battling poverty, money is the ultimate wealth.
• When you are sick, immunity and health is the ultimate wealth.
• If you are rich and lonely, love is the wealth you need
There’s something inherently disturbing about thinking of wealth as obscene. Such a perspective not only limits our understanding of one of the most important and powerful criteria of human progress. The more you spend money the less you have! You’re richer than you think – in terms of relationships, experiences, and personal growth. These are the true wealth, and they’re often overlooked in the pursuit of material gain.
I remember a time in my life when I was constantly striving for more. More success, more power, more recognition and sought after. It was a never-ending race! No matter how much I achieved, it wasn’t enough. This pursuit of ‘more’ began to take its toll. I was constantly stressed, and I felt disconnected from what truly mattered to me. The worst part- Despite everything I had, I still didn’t feel fulfilled.
I decided to try a different approach: I started appreciating what I already have. Instead of striving for more, I strived for ‘enough’. The results were transformative. I felt happier, less stressed, and more connected to my true self. My relationships improved, and I found joy in simple things that I’d previously overlooked.
Gratitude is crucial in the philosophy of ‘enough’. But there’s a profound beauty and peace in choosing to live simply. The philosophy of ‘enough’ embraces this simplicity. It’s a heartfelt reminder that more isn’t always better, and that sometimes, less is just enough.