Comments on: Sufficiency

By: Alison Stevens

Alison Stevens — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 14:04:39 +0000

Your thoughts are similar to my own, Chris… I’m thrilled to have found a website that so closely matches my own principles. The science backs up what you say, too. Daniel Gilbert, a psychologist at Harvard said (in an interview with the NYT):

“…we know from studies … that people tend to take more pleasure in experiences than in things. So if you have “x” amount of dollars to spend on a vacation or a good meal or movies, it will get you more happiness than a durable good or an object.”

If you decide you do want a castle, there are some affordable fixer-uppers here in Germany.

By: Veronica Hope

Veronica Hope — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 13:32:28 +0000

***Wow man this blog is amazing. I never really understood the sense of community people felt on the net before until I saw this and it was so specific to the model of my life!!***

I have never been happier than in the last 6 months. And I have been brokety broke broke.

Here are my pillars of work-life balance.
*Being able to stop work and watch The Nanny at 3.30 every day.
*Taking wine to a friend’s house who was doing graphic design for me and claiming it on tax.
*Being able to say ‘nup brain’s not happening today, I’ll clean the house instead’
*No bra.
Ha. Work life balance is so specific to the individual.

Why on earth WOULD we care about the media’s idea of happiness?! Maybe this information age will change that to a degree

By: Kelsey

Kelsey — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 22:57:07 +0000

What a great post. Certainly inspiring! I know that it takes a lot to sometimes put money in perspective and what the “American Dream” really is.

By: Milton Wongso

Milton Wongso — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 05:46:37 +0000

Thanks Chris for the post. It definitely feels better to have abundance mentality all the time. It is a decision, but can be a hard decision to make depending on circumstances. All in all, this post is a great reminder.

By: Graham Phoenix

Graham Phoenix — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 04:33:00 +0000

I see sufficiency as abundance as opposed to scarcity. Abundance is when you get up in the morning and you see the abundance in nature from plants, and animals to rain and sun. In my own life I have relatively little money but I feel abundant. I eat when I want and I eat what I want. I travel when I want and where I want. I live the life I want to because I don’t work for others. I have what I need and what I want, I am abundant.

By: Trackback from The Karma Economy

Trackback from The Karma Economy — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:18:18 +0000

[...] The karma economy works that way too. We show kindness, joy, generosity or we use people, places, things. It’s not practical to always be good, but it is important to consider the butterfly effect of whatever we do. With that in mind, this blog is taking a slightly different focus. The focus is on what we are doing to make this world better or worse. Stay tuned. [...]

By: Milton Wongso

Milton Wongso — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 23:42:08 +0000

You are right Chris. I remember reading it from the seven habits book – the term is called “abundance mentality” – an attitude of life that shows that there are more resources and opportunities around you to share with others.

Too often times, people operate in scarcity mentality while they forget to prioritize what things are truly important to them.

I think the ideas are aligned to what you are trying to convey.

By: Karen

Karen — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:59:16 +0000

This is my favorite all-time AONC post. I like to read it every so often because I need to remind myself that it’s important to put this concept above “budget” or “savings” or “salary” or whatever else.

One of the best things about it is that it’s adaptable to everyone who reads it; everyone has their own personal level of sufficiency. You can quit your job, you don’t have to quit your job…. we can all figure it out for ourselves.

By: Trackback from David Turnbull

Trackback from David Turnbull — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:02:49 +0000

[...] of sufficiency. Sufficiency is understanding enough, and it’s different for everyone. If you want to live in Thailand and [...]

By: liisa

liisa — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 09:30:59 +0000

Couldn’t agree more. This past May I quit my 9-5 (well, I’d only been there 9 months) and went back to being self-employed (currently 3 different income streams). I made less than $900 each month since then (and that’s Canadian dollars) but I’m currently in Stockholm Sweden, availing myself of my family’s hospitality but also earning money. I’ve had a great summer getting back to the things that are important to me. Working full-time at a job that I didn’t really enjoy ended up sucking so much out of me. Most of my friends can’t understand how I can be happy even though I don’t have the security of a job. The funny thing is, those same people do have job security and are generally miserable.