How Much Is Enough? Pp. 108-116, July-August 1999 Survey and responses - no author listed

How often do we hear the question "How much is enough?" I hear it on a daily basis. If hear from co-workers who don't have enough time to get their work done, I hear it from families with kids who are continually on the run and I hear it from farmers when the weather or grain prices aren't on their side. I'm not sure anyone knows what they really want. Do they want more time or to be less busy or more sun or more moisture? Some days it would not matter what people had, it wouldn't be right.

But the survey says some interesting things. When it comes down to answering questions and being honest about what is going on around you and the choices being made, people admit where the line should be drawn, they just can't do it. It's one thing to admit to something, it's a different story when you try to change. The questions in the survey were interesting as they questioned attitudes about money, time, measures of success, balance and choices. It's interesting to see how the answers differed, sometimes by a narrow margin and other times by a huge division. Everyone has their own views about what is enough or what would be an adequate compensation for the imbalance people feel or the choices people have made.

Personally I feel each person needs to decide where to draw the line and how much you can handle. Many people feel they are running constantly, but take a look at their lives. Maybe both husband and wife have full time jobs and 3 children. They have a beautiful home and yard which must be maintained. Maybe one of the spouses has a job with frequent deadlines to be met, or maybe they are on call and frequently get called to work. Possibly the children are of driving age and each child has one activity - the youngest is in a club, the middle is on a sports team and the oldest has a job. Because the family enjoys recreation, they have a camper for weekend getaways. What do you suppose this family is feeling? One reaction may be "How much more can we take? Can't we ever eat supper together?" Enough might not be money, it might be time and how do you corral that to divide evenly between relations, jobs, responsibilities and recreation? People often feel that they work hard so they should play hard, but the reward time often gets left out, or altogether forgotten.

I often get overwhelmed with the choices that face me, but I have to remember that's what they are - choices. Today was a classic example of the consequences I suffer for the choices I make. I learned that I have been losing vacation days for the past two months because I haven't allowed them to fit into my schedule. That's not something I am very happy about, but I know who can make that change - me! I have to decide how badly I need that time away from work and remember how I felt when I learned those days were lost to me. I believe the value I place on the work I do and the time I commit to the job is a strong reminder for me to take the time off and enjoy it, because I earned them!

When is enough "enough"? When we decide we want to change it! We can decide to work less hours, or limit the number of activities the kids participate in or insist on family meal time a few times a week. We can do it if we decide we want to change it.

Today, society makes us feel that we need to do more to be more appreciated or valued or well paid. But how many people are really happy? How many people would recognize it if you asked them? Sure we'd all like more pay and less time at the office, but would we be happy if we weren't challenged or given opportunities? Remembering that balance is an important thing and we need to respect the choices people have made. They are certainly not the ones we would all make, but in each persons own circumstance, those choices are what they feel best with right now. The only person you can change or make a difference with is you! It's important for each of us to reflect on what we consider to be "enough" and to evaluate what we could do differently. Not everyone will make the same choices, but if we all think about those choices, we might find that we can manage ourselves and still find that we are happy and enjoying life.

-- Anonymous, July 07, 1999