Define "enough" before you need it

Name the point past which more money no longer buys you anything you value.

Why it works

Without a defined "enough", the goalpost moves with whatever you compare yourself to, so no amount ever feels sufficient. Pre-committing to a number and a reason converts an infinite, envy-driven race into a finite, satisfiable target — removing the trap where people risk what they have and need for what they don’t have and don’t need.

How to do it

1. Write what "enough" looks like concretely — the life, not the number first, then the number.
2. Decide it before a windfall or a hot streak, when you’re not anchored to a comparison.
3. Name what you would risk losing by chasing more, and whether it’s worth it.

Evidence

Connects to social-comparison theory and research on the hedonic treadmill: satisfaction is relative to a moving reference point, so undefined goals stay perpetually unmet. (observational)

That comparison erodes satisfaction is well established; the specific practice of writing an "enough" number is practitioner advice built on top of that mechanism.

Sources

• Festinger (1954), social comparison theory; Brickman & Campbell, the hedonic-treadmill concept

Common mistake

Setting "enough" as a number with no life attached, so it silently ratchets upward every time someone around you has more.