Enough Is All We Need To Be Happy

We (Americans specifically) consume and buy way too much stuff.

For about 70% of my life, I was poor and couldn’t afford much. I didn’t have the “latest and greatest” anything and definitely had less than my peers. But I was still happy overall.

Now, let’s talk about the 30% of my life where I made it out of the hood, now live in a 5k square feet (465 square meters) home, and have a Google search history that shows my interest in purchasing a used Cessna 172. I now have more than my friends or anyone in my family has ever had – and I’m less happy than I was when I was poor.

On the surface, it doesn’t make much sense at all.

Understanding myself

So, I’ve been thinking about why I’m less happy now than when I was poor for several years now, and the rough conclusion I’ve come up with at this point in my life is that I’ve always had enough.

And now that I have more stuff, the consequences of that new responsibility are eating away at my happiness.

For example, here are a few of the consequences I’ve experienced by owning a lot:

• I have less free time because I work more to maintain the things I own
• I experience more stress when things I own become damaged
• I take less risk because I have more to lose

Now let’s go back to when I was poor and couldn’t afford much. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t experience frustration due to wanting things I couldn’t afford. However, now that I have the perspective of owning those things – I can easily say that I always had enough.

I had food to eat; I had a clean place to sleep; I had the ability to go to the doctor if I was sick; and I had a community of friends and family that I got to see often.

Ultimately, I had enough of everything that was necessary for balanced happiness. And when I say “balanced happiness”, I don’t mean happy all the time and forever.

I mean I’ve reached a level of happiness that gives me a good balance of life enjoyment without feeling trapped by the things I own and consume.

What I believe we should be doing

I believe that we (Americans) should all be consuming and owning way less stuff overall.

Now, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t strive for more.

I believe the desire to have and achieve more gives life an additional layer of purpose. However, I believe that we should change the way we look at being able to afford things.

Instead of thinking of affordability as “do I have enough money to purchase/consume this new thing?” – we should ask the question “is my life currently set up in a way to purchase/consume this new thing without a net effect of more stress, less free time, or a less enjoyable day-to-day lifestyle?“

When I look back at the decisions I’ve made to consume/purchase more stuff and ask myself the latter question, I realize that I shouldn’t have consumed/purchased a lot of things if happiness was one of my top goals.

And some things, like purchasing my first property to house hack, came with more stress and caused me to sacrifice time – but, the things I received in exchange (control over my housing, closer to family, saving money, more flexibility, etc..) had an overall net positive on my happiness.

The things you buy should and consume should be led by more than just money. For example, I was at Costco yesterday considering if I should buy a bike that was on sale so I could ride it once the weather gets better.

I like being outside, and exercising, and had enough money to purchase the bike. However, when I thought about when I’d ride the bike – I was reminded that I barely have the time for my current day-to-day life. I don’t have the free time available to even ride the bike.

So sure, I could “afford” the bike if we’re talking about money. But money is only one piece of the equation when trying to decide if you should buy/consume a new thing.

How I plan to move forward

As I move forward in life, I plan on getting rid of as much stuff as possible until I reach a point of just having enough. I want just enough stuff that allows me to be free, be healthy, and have a balanced level of happiness.

As I type this, it sounds so obvious. But somewhere along the path of living life, I forgot. And I think most Americans (especially Black Americans like me) have also forgotten or never realized this at all.

So, to end this post – I want you, the reader, to make sure you’re only buying/consuming things that actually make your life better. There’s no point in buying/consuming something new in an attempt to fix a problem you didn’t have.

For example, if you currently drive a Toyota Prius that’s not causing major recurring problems in your life – buying a Lexus isn’t going to make you happier. Sure, you’ll be happier in the beginning because it’s new to you. But once it stops being new to you, you’ll have to live with the consequences of that purchase until you get rid of it.

Instead, try getting your Toyota Prius detailed and deep cleaned by a professional. It’ll come back smelling new and look much better than it did before. This can mimic the happiness you’d get from having something new without the consequences associated with buying something you don’t actually need.