Sufficiency, Not Excess, Leads to Sustainable Success.

If you pay attention to some of the most prominent messages about success within western society, you may be tempted to think of sufficiency (in almost any context) as being tantamount to inadequacy or, perhaps worse, mediocrity.

The relentless drive to grow, exceed targets, and hit new heights in our culture is more than a commitment to excellence; it’s a lust – an excess that is celebrated, even glorified. We can become insatiable in our desire for more – addicted and thereby enslaved – without any alcohol or an illicit substance in sight.

The relentless pursuit of more has been established as a virtue within the materialism of the western world, giving traumatised individuals a socially acceptable face for their addiction in the process. (Cf. Gabor Maté’s work on trauma and addiction.) But consistently doing more than what is sufficient can lead to imbalance and become pathogenic – a manifestation of the self attacking the self, perhaps. Unsustainable.

Nothing is sufficient for the person who finds sufficiency too little. – Epicurus

Sufficiency as Virtue and Necessity

My friends whose philosophical persuasions come from the east tell me that sufficiency is an ideal state within eastern philosophy. But sufficiency is also championed as both virtue and necessity in philosophies that have been embraced by the west.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ teaches his disciples to pray for their daily bread before instructing them to, “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” In other words, deal with what’s in front of you at a given moment in time without fretting about the future, exercising faith in divinity rather than relying solely on individual efforts to gather up material excess.

The Book of Mormon includes the following instruction:

“And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order.” – Mosiah 4:27

Speaking in favour of diligence in the pursuit of success, this passage tempers any impulse towards excessive exertion with a charge to do things in wisdom and order, not running faster than one has strength to. Anything more than that isn’t sustainable.

He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough. – Lao Tzu

You Are Enough

Behind many people’s preoccupation with excessive effort and relentless achievement lies a belief that their self-worth is dependent on such – they’re only as good as their last numbers. And the more stuff they accumulate, whether trophies or toys, the higher their inherent worth (or so the thinking goes). They’ve believed one of the most powerful lies of western materialism, damaging themselves, their relationships and, ironically, limiting their medium to long-term contributions in the process.

This speaks to the value of knowing who you are at a transcendent level, beyond the material affirmation of trophies and toys.

When you know who you are at that level, you’re free from the enslavement of being driven to prove yourself through relentless material achievement and accolades.

And you know that you are inherently enough, as you move forward in wisdom and order to win your prize.

You’re on your path towards sustainable success.

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If you would like to create a life of purpose, meaning and fulfilment for your own pursuit of sustainable success then drop me a line: tom@3stewardships.com.