Overall Thoughts
I’ve been a fan of Patrick’s writing ever since I discovered his website. Patrick has the rare ability to take everyday situations/examples, and simplify them to help the reader appreciate them more. I’ve read most of his books, but hadn’t read “Enough” yet. It’s a quick read, but it’s very practical and useful.
“Enough” focuses on a simple question-“what is enough for you?”
It’s a simple question, but it’s one that we don’t ask ourselves often enough. Patrick breaks down some real-world examples of how we can apply this question and take a step back from our busy worlds to take a hard look at what is enough.
Impactful Quotes
“There is always a higher market share to achieve. There is always a nicer neighborhood to live in. There is always a better digital device upgrade available.”
This is so true, but it isn’t often that we stop and think about this. Literally every single piece of technology that we currently have is more than capable of providing us with incredible functionality. In the grand scheme of things, the iPhone 3G is still groundbreaking. It’s easy to forget this with the constant upgrades being pushed in our faces. I’m not saying that we should use an iPhone 3G. What I am saying is we have an incredible amount of groundbreaking technology all around us. You don’t NEED to upgrade, you WANT to upgrade. There’s a difference.
“We have inherited an attitude from our great history or progress: we take it for granted that ‘even better’ is just around the corner. Our trajectory of constant improvement has burned itself into our expectations like unalterable genetic code. Whether we are waiting for today’s seasonal fashions or the updated model of our smartphone, we are a forward-looking vulture that is helplessly lured in by the next leap forward in ease, practicality, comfort, and efficiency.”
Again, none of these things are bad, but it’s important to realize them as a reality.
“Often, it is not enough to embrace limitations. Instead, consider creating limitations.”
In today’s world I think the only way to actually limit yourself is to set strict boundaries. Patrick argues here that “embracing” limitations won’t do much. I agree and need to improve on this as well.
“When we say no to the things we want, we are often saying yes to the things we already have. Conversely, in saying yes to things we want, we are saying, in this same action, that what we have is not enough.”
This quote really puts things into perspective because 90% of the time when we say “no” to things we have, it isn’t because they don’t work, it’s because the new version looks better, runs slightly faster, etc.
“I think we need to remove the wholly negative stigma from the idea of saying no. I think we need to return to a definitive support of the positive choice that saying no can bring.”
It pays to say “no”. People should say “no” more often. People should stop seeing “no” as something negative.
“Many of us have an underlying trepidation of disconnection, because we fear we may miss something important, interesting, or relevant if we do.”
Social media is the perfect example of this. Most people (including myself) act like if they miss someones story on Snapchat or tweet-storm in real-time they are missing out on a huge part of life. No, I promise the world will continue revolving.
“That is really what we are most afraid of. Not death, really. We are afraid of missing out on more life.”
This quote is so impactful because it’s so accurate.
“Time and attention are your most limited resources. Be fiercely protective of how you spend them.”
Who is more wealthy? Someone who has millions in their bank but has almost no time to spend with family? Or someone who makes decent money but gets to spend their evenings and weekends with their family?
“It used to be that people needed products to survive. Now products need people to survive.” – Nicholas Johnson
You can buy “Enough” at this link – Purchase “Enough”