The Coach’s Clipboard: Ask when enough is enough
From BALANCED LEADERSHIP IN UNBALANCED TIMES, page 104.
Dr. Robert Pasick’s useful toolbox of leadership strategies for men and women who want to improve their performance at work and in the community.
Some people compulsively compare themselves to others; they never think about what is enough in terms of their own satisfaction. They figure they need to strive for more, more, more – instead of recognizing that they already may have more than 90% of the people on the planet. They never stop to ask themselves: Is this how I want my life to be?
It’s not just about money. It can be about achievement or prestige. It can even be about toys. I’ve got a perfectly good phone. It does everything I need it to do. But when the iPhone came out, people said, “Oh, you should have an iPhone, because it does this and this and this.” I needed to stop and think: Do I really need it? Do I need to spend $400 on a new toy? Is it going to take me months to figure out how to use it? And how long before the next new toy comes along? (I decided to pass on the iPhone for the moment.)
I usually use junky pens because I lose them right and left. But a friend once gave me an expensive pen because he thought it would better fit my station in life. I was terrified I would lose the pen, and sure enough, it vanished soon after he gave it to me. But I couldn’t tell him that, so I went out and bought a replacement. The status symbol had become a kind of burden.
http://www.readthespirit.com/bookstore/books/balanced-leadership-in-unbalanced-times/
Balanced Leadership in Unbalanced Times