When ‘Enough’ Became My Teacher: Lessons From My Word of the Year
Awareness: The Undercurrents I Didn’t See at First
I always love looking back at the journal pages that carried me into a new year. They’re never quite as tidy as I want them to be… but they’re honest. And when I flipped back to last December, I noticed something I hadn’t named at the time.
I was feeling more settled — especially in business — than I had in the previous couple of chaotic, stretching years. That made sense. I was in the midst of year three, beginning to feel like I’d “gotten the hang of it.” I thought what I really wanted was to go deeper.
But as I read those entries now, I notice a little tension hiding underneath that hope… this pull between craving deeper peace and craving more. And honestly, I think those two things were more connected than I realized at the time.
I wanted less worry—about work, finances, the future—and somewhere in my brain, “more” (more clients, more revenue, more opportunity) felt like the thing that would finally quiet the worries.
Spoiler: it didn’t.
But that tension is what nudged me toward the word I thought I was choosing.
Attention: When the Word That Wasn’t My Word Wouldn’t Leave Me Alone
I actually started the year with a different word. “Deeper.”
I even wrote a blog about it.
But it never fully settled into my soul.
Instead, another word kept tapping me on the shoulder. I’d considered it originally, but I’d labeled it too negative, too flat, too easily misunderstood. It felt like a word that might send the wrong message.
But week after week, there it was again.
Eventually I admitted the truth: the word wasn’t going away.
And I realized that this word didn’t need to make sense to anyone but me.
So sometime in the first couple months, I changed my word.
Enough.
A year earlier, I’d heard a line that stopped me in my tracks:
“Enough is a decision, not an amount.”
I felt that one.
Because I often struggle to know when enough is… enough. It pops up everywhere:
how much income I earn
how many clients I have
how much to pack for a trip
how many hours to research a purchase
how full my plate gets at a buffet
how full my schedule is
how much I work, even when I don’t need to
Once I named it, I couldn’t unsee it.
I’m an Enneagram Seven — a type associated with gluttony. And if I’m honest, I had always convinced myself that that part of the type description didn’t apply to me.
But paying attention to “enough” this year made me face the ways I do wrestle with excess — not always with food or stuff, but with striving, planning, anticipating, trying to fill every possible gap so I won’t feel anxious.
Choosing “enough” was my way of hoping for a few things:
Perspective — a clearer sense of what is truly sufficient for me.
Temperance — not in a harsh way, but in a grounded, peaceful way.
Freedom — because deciding I have enough frees me from striving for more than I need.
And underneath it all was a desire for contentment, an ability to be satisfied and joyful with what I have.
Alignment: When ‘Enough’ Began to Do Its Work
The more I paid attention, the more I noticed the ripple effects.
Sometimes my overindulgence in one area created scarcity in another. If I spent too much time going down a rabbit hole researching a purchase, I’d have less time for work. And losing hours for work meant less time left for rest. Or fun. Or actual human beings.
I started to see how much of my exhaustion (and frustration) was self-created… usually growing out of the belief that I didn’t have enough information, enough certainty, enough time. Old patterns of scarcity dressed up as excess preparation.
And then came the spiritual tension.
Jesuit spirituality encourages us to strive for magis—often translated as “more.” So wasn’t more… good?
Here’s the thing I realized:
Magis is more for God’s greater glory.
My striving for more—more perfection, more indulgence, more comfort—was usually for my desires, not God’s. And that was an uncomfortable, humbling, yet holy revelation.
Abundance: What “Enough” Actually Looked Like in Real Life
As the year went on, the word kept showing up — sometimes loudly, sometimes like a whisper in the background.
And then there were the practical places the word kept showing up…
With food
Buffets, parties… all the places where “enough” is a moving target. I learned that if I arrived tired or emotional, it was harder to make good decisions. “Enough” requires intention.
With finances
I know — cognitively, rationally — that we have enough and there’s nothing to worry about. But the worries still sneak in. I’m learning that the fear won’t fully go away, but I can counter it more quickly now. I can remind myself: I have enough. We have enough. God provides enough.
With decisions and purchases
Instead of losing hours to research and comparison shopping, I started asking myself things like:
Is this bringing me enjoyment or frustration?
What else do I really need to know to choose?
How would I feel if I decided right now?
What could I do with the next hour instead of still researching this thing?
The answers were almost always clarifying.
With my schedule
I began leaving more margin. Letting myself move at a slower pace some days. Creating space for the people I love, for myself, for the things that actually bring life.
I even redefined my Areas of Focus — and reduced my work-related categories from three down to two. (Baby steps…)
With projects
I kept reminding myself of the law of diminishing returns — that at some point, more effort doesn’t produce more value. Sometimes “good enough” really is good enough.
With my summer retreat
I wanted five registrants.
I got four.
And you know what?
It was an amazing weekend—full, rich, meaningful.
Four was enough.
Invitation: Questions for Your Own Year-End Reflection
If you chose a word — or even if you didn’t — these questions might help you notice your own themes:
What drew you to the guiding word or season you’ve lived this year?
How has it shaped who you’re becoming?
What quiet invitation are you sensing as you look toward the year ahead?
A Soft Landing: What I’m Bringing Into the Next Year
A few things are coming with me into the new year:
A deeper trust in God’s providence.
Even when something doesn’t look like enough at first glance… God has a way of stretching what’s there.A clearer sense that “enough” is internal, not external. I have agency over my desires, habits, and tendencies. Yes, I may have a proclivity to overdo it… but that doesn’t mean I’m ruled by it. I get to choose.
I’m not sure yet what next year’s word will be. I’ve started those conversations with God, and I have some ideas, but if this year taught me anything, it’s that I probably need to listen more than I decide.
I thought “enough” wasn’t the perfect word for this year… but it turns out that the “perfect” word isn’t the point.
The honest word — the one that won’t leave you alone — might just be the one you need.
This year? “Enough” was the honest nudge I needed.
And I’m grateful for it.
It was enough.
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