How much does a person actually need? Most of us don't recognise what “enough” really looks like for us, even once food, shelter and clothing are secure.
A small story
A businessman at a Mexican coastal pier meets a fisherman who has caught a modest number of tuna in a short time. Asked why he doesn't fish longer to catch more, the fisherman explains he already has what his family needs: he sleeps late, fishes a little, plays with his kids, naps with his wife Maria, and spends evenings in the village with wine and guitar among friends — “a full and busy life, señor.”
The businessman, a Harvard MBA, lays out a growth plan: fish longer, buy a bigger boat, then a fleet, cut out the middleman, open a cannery, and relocate progressively to Mexico City, then LA, then New York to run the expanding business. Asked how long this would take, he says fifteen to twenty years, after which an IPO would make the fisherman a millionaire — and then he could retire. Asked what retirement would look like, the businessman describes: moving back to a small coastal village to sleep late, fish a little, play with his kids, nap with his wife, and spend evenings with wine and guitar among friends. The fisherman smiles: “Isn't that what I'm doing right now?”
As children we were content with simple games; modern gadgets only satisfy us briefly before a newer version makes the old one feel obsolete. Much like the lag between a full stomach and the brain registering it, if we wait for a signal before stopping, we've already taken more than enough. Our goals keep shifting along with inflation and annual targets, so satisfaction only lasts until the goal is revised upward again.
We are all conditioned to want more no matter what we have — MORE always exceeds ENOUGH, and most of the time we make ourselves miserable chasing more than enough without pausing to ask how much we truly need. Once basic needs are met, it is worth distinguishing between EXISTENCE and LIVING, and asking what will genuinely make us feel satisfied and happy — revisiting our Purpose of Life: WHAT we actually require (Health, Wealth, Work/Career/Profession, Self Esteem/Spirituality), and for WHOM (Self, Family, Friends, Society, Environment).