You're enough

We live in a world that demands more. Growth at all costs. Improved productivity, race to the moon and beyond. This recursive nature of eating itself has advantages. I’m thankful for running water, for one.

But when we push forever without thought of the moment, of the little things in front of us that matter, the beauty of a child’s smile, the sun’s final rays hitting across an open field, the breath moving in and out of our lungs on a chilly day—well frankly, it becomes easy to lose sight of the beauty around us.

Improvement is great. Forced growth creates constraints that cause improvement in areas we couldn’t have imagined. Moore’s Law has been a conscious decision that shaped the world around us and brought untold power of computing into our pockets, on our wrists, in our ears, and now in our glasses.

But chasing growth by definition is a sisyphean task. If that’s the only thing we’re in for, we’ll never meet our goal, and the reality of life around us will be all too easily missed.

When I see younger professionals coming into this career, looking for growth, looking for possibility that will shape their lives, I encourage them to push forward, to grow, to learn everything they can while their brains are acting as sponges.

But amidst all that don’t forget that you’re enough. You have value, I appreciate you purely for the fact that you’re here. Push and try to grow if you’re in a good place to do that, but don’t use it as a drug, a supplement, a cardboard cutout that hides the real and beautiful you from the world.