Defining Enough: On Your Terms, Not Theirs

About the Deep Dive Series

Every month, I pick a money topic I’ve been thinking about, talking about, or nerding out over. It usually something that’s come up in conversations with friends or clients. I’ll listen to podcasts, read articles and books, dig into the details, and then break it all down in a way that actually makes sense. The goal? To help you feel more confident and clear when it comes to your money. These Deep Dives go out first to the email crew. Get the good stuff delivered straight to your inbox each month, join here.

Ready to explore the feeling of "enough"? Let's dive in.

The other day, I was out fishing with a friend who had a brand-new, top-of-the-line Orvis fly rod. 

Beautiful. Sleek. The kind of gear that makes you feel like you’ve leveled up just by holding it.

She let me cast it, and honestly? It felt like butter. Effortless. Smooth. Perfect.

Later that night, curiosity got the best of me. I looked up the MSRP. And… whew. Not exactly an impulse buy.

For a moment, I felt that familiar tug of comparison. That quiet voice that whispers, "If you had this, maybe you’d fish better… feel more legit… look the part."

But then something softened in me.

I realized: my fly rod is enough. It’s caught beautiful fish. It’s been with me on rad, epic days out on the water. I don’t need more to enjoy the moment I’m already in.

Why is "Enough" an Issue?

That one moment opened up a bigger reflection:

What is enough? Why is it so hard to feel it?

We live in a world that constantly pushes us to want more.

More money. More success. More recognition. More everything.

But “more” is a moving target. And if we’re not careful, we end up in a loop where satisfaction is always just out of reach.

As Sahil Bloom writes in his book The Five Types of Wealth:

“The chase for more is societally celebrated, while the contentment with enough is easily misunderstood as a lack of ambition. The worthiness of your life is not established by the numbers on your bank or brokerage statement. And it never will be. You set the terms of your own pursuit. You define the rules of your game” (Bloom, pg. 315).

And that’s the problem: we’re applauded for chasing endlessly, but rarely encouraged to pause, look around, and ask “What does enough look like to me?”

What Can We Do to Resolve This?

Start by pausing. Asking deeper questions.

Reflecting on what enough actually means to you and not what it means to the world around you

A few questions to explore:

• What does enough look like in your life right now?

• Is your idea of enough based on your values or someone else’s expectations?

• Can you recognize the physical feeling of enough when it’s present?

• Where in your life do you already have enough, but haven’t named it?

Here’s the thing: Everyone’s “enough” will look different… And that’s the point.

Take my friend with the fly rod, for example. She and her husband have amazing outdoor gear. They have top-of-the-line everything, they camp often, and head off the grid for days at a time. That’s what fills them up. That’s their enough.

My husband and I also have some solid gear, but we’re more the type to go on a road trip, book an Airbnb, stroll to a local brewery, and explore somewhere walkable. That’s our enough.

Different lifestyles. Different versions of peace. Both completely valid.

The freedom comes when we stop measuring our lives against someone else’s highlight reel and start defining satisfaction on our own terms.

As Bloom puts it:

“There is no perfect antidote… Our chase for more is genetically hardwired, but forcing the definition of enough out of the subconscious mind and into the conscious mind is a start" (Bloom, pg. 316).

Naming your enough is an act of clarity and of power.

Give yourself permission to choose a version of “enough” that actually fits you. Not what looks good online. Not what your neighbor is doing. Not what your parents hoped for.

Just yours.

Something That Helped Me Recently…

If this is a theme you’ve been wrestling with, I highly recommend this short Reel from Sahil Bloom on Instagram.

📽️ Click here to watch.

In it, Bloom shares a conversation between a small-town fisherman and a successful banker. It’s a simple story that quickly reveals something powerful about the way we define success, ambition, and enough.

Their perspectives are very different and that’s what makes the story so thought-provoking. Be sure to watch the entire clip!

What’s Your Enough?

Take a few quiet minutes today to write out what enough means to you (financially, emotionally, mentally). Let it be personal. Let it be true. Let it surprise you.

You got this. 💚

Hi! I'm Jeannette Fennel. As a certified financial coach, I encourage and empower Millennials to take control of their finances. I focus on financial goal setting, budgeting, and debt payoff strategies. I love seeing clients make changes in their lives and crush their goals. Along with coaching clients one-on-one, I also run an Etsy shop with instant downloads called FennelBudgetingShop.

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