We live in a world of hustle culture. We need more, we need to climb the corporate ladder, we need to have our kids in all the best activities and schools, we need to join all the right clubs and participate in all the things, and we need to make all the meals homemade, and we need to have all the new vehicles perfectly cared for, and we need to have a house that is a showplace at all times.

It’s unattainable.

We don’t need any of this. We can’t do all of this. So find enough for you and your family.

My brother and I talk about this often. He has clearly set his priority list and the top of it is being a present parent for his kids and all their activities. He has made it clear at his job that he isn’t looking for career advancement if it takes away from his time at home. Everything else in his life stays at a low simmer, it’s not burning on high heat. And that works for his family.

I spent the first ten years of my career hustling hard. I took every challenge I could, I advanced the skills and qualifications I could and I spent evenings and weekends working. I did not take many vacations, I did not have a relationship or children, and I did not have much in the way of a social life that detracted from my career.

Then the global pandemic shut things down and forced a slow-down in the expectations of my career. Turns out I liked working from home. I really liked having weekends to myself. I even made time for a relationship. All of a sudden my priorities shifted heavily and I realized I didn’t want to hustle anymore. I wanted enough.

I changed the trajectory of my career to accommodate freedom and flexibility. Now I can work from my RV if we feel like taking a week to go exploring. Now I can go on adventures with my aging dog and not spend our final years with him waiting in the car for me to finish working.

Figure out the things that matter to you and focus on those. I realized my brother had been right all along. Prioritizing non-work things was the right answer for me too. I found a way to make enough money to do the things I want to do while also having the flexibility and freedom to do them.

This comes with a cost. I had to say no a lot. I had to pull back from deserving organizations that could use my help. I had to draw boundaries and that created a distance between me and those I’d previously been in the trenches with.

But it also created a peace within me. I have enough to keep the lights on and a roof over my head. But I also have enough time to do the things that enrich me. My car is old, my house rarely looks like a show place, and I have heavily edited the activities and groups I sign up for. But I am far more content than I once was.

Find enough for you. Be willing to disappoint people by choosing what’s important to you. Be able to recognize what is too much.

Don’t do everything. Don’t try to have everything. Do enough. Have enough.