Enough

I was preparing for a presentation and told myself I would work for one more hour before calling it a day. After that, I planned to head to a 6 pm yoga class for the first time in months. I’d been practicing at home, but I missed the feeling of moving and breathing in community.

For weeks, though, I had sabotaged that intention. I would keep working right up until the last minute, always squeezing in “one more thing.” By the time I looked up, I would be too tired and too late. And for me, nothing feels more counterproductive than rushing to yoga.

This week, I chose differently. Instead of pushing through another hour of work, I said, “That’s enough,” shut my laptop, and gave myself a slow, spacious transition to class.

That small choice felt like a victory, a shift away from an old pattern and toward something more life-affirming.

About twenty years ago, I stumbled across a book by Wayne Muller called A Life of Being, Having, and Doing Enough. As I flipped through the pages, one question leapt out at me: “How many of us...lay our head on our pillow at night and can honestly say, ‘Ah, that was a good day. That was enough?’”

At the time, I couldn’t remember ever having that feeling. So I bought the book, and I’ve been wrestling with that question ever since.

Last Wednesday, walking slowly into yoga instead of skipping it or rushing, felt like one of those rare moments when the resounding answer was, “Yes! Today I did enough.”

So I leave you with this question: When do you know you’ve done enough?