Lao Tzu on the trouble with never having enough. From Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, about the 4th century BC.
China, the 4th century BC. Seven big states were at war, year after year, each trying to take its neighbors’ land.
Chapter 46 of the Tao Te Ching opens on that world. When the Way rules, it says, fast horses are sent home to pull dung carts for the fields. When the Way is lost, war horses are bred out on the borders.
The Tao Te Ching, credited to Lao Tzu, says there is no calamity greater than being discontented with your lot, and that whoever knows when to stop stays out of danger. The novelist Joseph Heller, at a billionaire’s party, said he had one thing his host never would: knowing he had enough.
Enough is a line you draw, not an amount you reach. Practical advice: before your next raise, decide what the money is for.
Well established · checked against 7 sourcesWrite down what enough looks like for you, before your next raise.
“Every time I earn more, I spend more. How do I decide what is enough for me?”
Know When It’s Enough and the other 11 ideas of Tao Te Ching, a minute at a time.
Download on theApp StoreEvery idea is drawn from the public-domain text, and its names, dates and quotes are checked against the sources listed with it. The paintings are made for Counsel; they show the scene, not a historical record.
