When is Enough Enough?

“Our obsession with attaining prevents us from finding contentment. We strive to attain wealth and status and possessions, but there is no end to that desire to attain. It never ends. We’re never content. And so we strive for more, and never find enough. This has led to huge waste, huge inequalities, bad health, and a culture where we look out for ourselves and not for each other.”

– Leo Babauta, author of Zen Habits in an interview

Ooh, this totally resonates with me. I’m always looking towards the next horizon, the next goal, the next race. I like projects, especially completing them, but immediately upon finishing something, I’m on to the next project.

For some things, I find it very beneficial to have goals. After completing my first triathlon, I signed up for the following year. But then I moved to NYC and skipped a year. I realized that making that commitment to do the triathlon in June kept me motivated to exercise, especially for the six months prior to the event. The year I skipped…well, that’s when that fat pic was taken of me! So I’ve done it every year since, and even added a couple additional events this year.

Working with my own life coach this year, we talked prior to my annual triathlon. I told her how my goal each year is to beat my previous time, and this year I trained harder than ever before. I got discouraged when I got sidelined for a bit by viruses, a minor bike crash and work travel. I told her I was frustrated that I wasn’t doing enough training. She deftly asked, “What is ‘enough?'” By setting a goal for myself that was undefined, I would never reach it. She wisely reminded me, it’s the JOURNEY, not the destination, and encouraged me to remember why I do this — to keep myself motivated throughout the year, not just that one day.

And I’m trying to enjoy the in-between times, too. Instead of signing up for another event this fall, I’ve decided to still keep up my training (although not at such an intense level) but also add yoga and meditation time. Time to Just Be. And while I still struggle with my inner over-achiever, I’ve also learned to really enjoy the pleasures of taking time to sit by the river, take a nap, or enjoy long lunches with friends. My hope is that you can find and take some time out for yourself today, too.