What If More Isn’t The Goal?
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I've been sitting inside a very interesting tension lately.
In my personal life, I am experiencing a visceral resistance to "maximizing" and "optimizing" and squeezing every last drop out of life.
And for a recovering perfectionist and over-achiever, this is a big shift for me.
Even though those intentions usually come from a well-meaning place—to live life to the fullest, to make the most of every opportunity—I realized earlier this year that something about that energy feels extractive. Like I'm trying to get something out of life itself, instead of actually living it.
And yet, in my business, I'm in a stage of growth that requires optimization, streamlining, and efficiency if I want to keep building the firm I envision.
Not to mention, I'm a financial advisor. Helping people optimize their financial lives is literally my job.
And the funny thing is... I love optimization.
I love efficiency.
I love solving puzzles.
And yet, at the same time, I'm resisting the idea that every corner of life needs to be maximized all the time.
Hence... tension.
What Are We Optimizing For?
At the core of my being, I believe in the importance of holding two seemingly opposing truths at the same time.
So rather than approaching this as an either/or question, I've been trying to approach it as both/and.
I'm not anti-optimization.
It's literally what I do for a living.
I just think the question is more nuanced than that.
Instead of asking, "How do we maximize everything?" I've found myself asking:
What are we optimizing for?
The longer I do this work, the more I realize that optimization without a destination is surprisingly empty.
We can optimize taxes.
Investments.
Cash flow.
Retirement timing.
Business decisions.
But if we haven't defined what we're building toward and why it matters, optimization becomes an exhausting game with no finish line.
As a younger planner, I believed my value came from helping clients maximize every possible opportunity.
And while I still scan like a hawk for those opportunities, I've come to realize that every optimization comes with a tradeoff.
My job isn't solely to help clients “optimize more.”
My job is helping them determine where their limited time, energy, and resources will create the most meaningful return for their life.
Because if we don't get to everything—and let's be honest, we probably won't!—I want to make sure we're focusing first on the things that matter most.
What Is Enough?
If you've been following me for a while, you probably know that I place personal values at the center of every financial plan.
Because your values tell us a lot about what makes your life meaningful and fulfilling.
And if your financial plan is only centered around making more money, that's not actually much of a plan.
It's certainly not a compelling vision or sustainable source of motivation.
Something else I do frequently with clients is scenario planning. We often explore multiple versions of the future at every review meeting.
Partly because life changes.
Partly because we gain more information and clarity over time.
But also because these scenarios reveal something important:
How much do you actually need?
Not just mathematically.
Emotionally.
Practically.
Personally.
What's your "enough" number?
But perhaps the more important question is:
What happens when you reach it?
Because if your entire identity has been built around striving, producing, accumulating, and achieving, reaching "enough" can feel surprisingly uncomfortable and destabilizing.
Especially if fear and scarcity have been your primary motivators.
Do not underestimate the massive shift in identity and motivation this is.
So lately I've been wondering what it would look like to explore enough on a smaller scale too.
What is enough for today?
What is enough for this season?
Can we allow ourselves to consider enough without immediately assuming it means we've settled, become complacent, fallen behind, or given up?
Because I don't think enough is about lowering our ambitions.
I think it's about creating clarity.
And clarity acts as a container inside of which freedom can exist.
It's a bit of a paradox.
We often think freedom comes from removing constraints.
But in my experience, freedom is often created by defining them.
When we know what matters, what enough looks like, and what we're building toward, decisions become simpler.
We stop trying to optimize everything and start optimizing intentionally.
The freedom to spend with confidence.
To give generously.
To rest without guilt.
To pursue things that bring us joy simply because they bring us joy.
Financial planning often starts as a numbers conversation.
Eventually, it becomes an identity conversation.
Because knowing your "enough" number is one thing.
Learning how to trust it is another.
Because once you know what enough looks like, you stop chasing every opportunity simply because it's there.
You can move through decisions, spending, giving, and rest with greater clarity, confidence, and ease.
And perhaps most importantly, you can stop measuring your life solely by what could have been maximized.
Letting Enough Be Enough
In my own life, I'm beginning to wonder if that's the hidden cost of constantly pursuing more.
We become so focused on what comes next that we miss what's here.
We become so focused on extracting the most from life that we forget to receive it.
And I think that's true financially, too.
One of the deepest forms of financial security isn't simply having enough.
It's trusting that you have enough.
Trusting the plan.
Trusting your values.
Trusting that you don't need to optimize every decision, chase every opportunity, or accumulate endlessly in order to be okay.
Maybe this creates the conditions for something many of us are actually seeking:
Presence.
The ability to let a moment land.
To enjoy what we've already built.
To experience gratitude before the next goal arrives.
To feel satiated, even if only for a moment.
Because what good is reaching your "enough" number if you've never learned how to recognize and appreciate it when it arrives?
Summer feels like an appropriate season to sit with that question:
What if more isn't the goal?
And what if enough isn't something we discover one day in the future...
but something we can begin practicing right now?
