More is more.
Not better and not progress. More is more.
It’s an easy default to act on instead of asking subjective and difficult questions such as:
- Am I spending my time doing the things I care about?
- Am I searching for more because I don’t know what else to do?
- Why do I feel like I’d be “falling behind” if I didn’t chase more?
The seduction of chasing more is that it’s a default. Of course you should chase more money. Of course you should chase career progression. Of course building status is important.
And don’t get me wrong, these are all important. But when does “more” become “enough”?
“Enough” is a target, but more as a default is often unsustainable. It’s a moving goalpost which doesn’t lead to contentment, only dissatisfaction.
It’s so, so tempting to say yes to that next thing, because doing more feels natural. But it doesn’t have to be. It’s a choice, even if it’s your current default.
What if I made a different choice? What if the goal wasn’t to default to more, but to choose more strategically in a few domains, while being okay that everything else is “enough”?
I don’t know the answers to these questions. But I can clearly see that they are important enough to be asking them regularly.