What is enough?
Do you have a definition for enough that you use on a regular basis?
A few weeks ago, I was asked to reflect on the concept of enough with a kindred spirit. It was in the context of fundraising and how the concept of enoughness influences the culture of an organization’s fundraising.
Enoughness is not limited to fundraising. Our definition of enough touches every area of our life and leadership.
As I considered my respondence to my friend's inquiry, I was reminded how much our world does not want us to pause and consider the concept of enough. For me, I had to sit down, think, read, and yet again consider how have I allowed fear, doubt, and shame to crowd out my holistic understanding of enough.
(Within this blog I’ve noted some of the resources used in crafting my response.)
Our society is very good at hurling fear, doubt, and shame at us every day. Helping us believe that there will never be enough, that we are not enough, and only through the pursuit of more we will ever have enough. This is completely upside down, recognizing this juxtaposition is helpful in understanding how to have right relationship with others, including a right relationship with ourselves and our definition of enough.
After a time of reflection, words to describe my sense of enough began to flow and I’m deeply grateful that they did. These concepts are now more present than they have ever been before and I’m reminded of how nourishing, fulfilling, and helpful they are.
There will be enough – trust in this truth. If we don’t, there will never be enough. We often consider this the abundance mindset, when we open ourselves to seeing potential rather than the finite, opportunity rather than dualistic thinking, and faith in God—rather than faith in ourselves to make sure there will be enough.
Among the many resources to learn more about and practice there will be enough please consider Small is Beautiful by E.F. Schumacher. An economist by training, Schumacher recognizes that when there is simplicity in design there is more room for humans and their souls. A favorite cookbook growing up was called More with Less. Within its pages were simple, tasty recipes that helped you eat better and consume less of the worlds limited food resources.
We are enough – one of the messages that permeates our society is that we are not enough. In order to be enough, you need to buy this, belong to that, or look like them. None of which is true and we fight this battle every day of our lives and multiple times per day. Unless we are intentional, this type of thinking can also influence our relationships with others. If we are not careful our relationships can become transactional, monetized, territorial, and dysfunctional.
When we are enough, you are enough and I am enough. When we think, feel, and act in this way, we see the wholeness of ourselves and the wholeness of other humans. This opens for us a pathway to what Ed and Peter Schein call Whole Person to Whole Person relationships. Please see Humble Leadership for its contribution to the concept of enough.
A recent finding of mine is an author and artist Geoffrey Baines. You probably know him better than I do. I found his not so recent blog, citing Eckhart Tolle and particularly helpful in developing my definition of enough.
Below is one of Geoffrey Baines' drawings. Its simplicity and message are amazing! To my knowledge the cartoon is unfinished.
Finally, God is enough. If God isn’t enough, then I need something they don’t provide. If God isn’t enough, than I’m not enough, you are not enough, and we won’t ever have enough.
When God is at the center of our lives, something else is not at the center such as money, power, prestige, etc. Perhaps you have another concept of the divine or the infinite, so please use your concept here.
When we believe God is enough, then we have what we need, we are whole, complete as we are.
The Franciscan alternative orthodoxy asks us to let go, to recognize that there is enough to go around and meet everyone’s needs but not everyone’s greed.[1]
Application to your leadership
As you apply the concept of enough to your leadership, what implications come to your mind? How does your definition of enough impact:
These are only a few questions for you to consider as you contemplate the concept of enough.
Please respond to this blog post by sharing your thoughts. Please share a reading that you have found helpful on your journey in understanding what enough means to you.
We are all in this together.
Mind how you go,
Lon
Design Group International
Co-CEO & Senior Design Partner
[1] Center for Action and Contemplation, Enoughness instead of Never Enough, published 19 February 2016, accessed 11 April 2026.