Most Americans are engaged in an endless pursuit of more on a daily basis. More comes in many different forms: intangible things like love and approval or things you can see and touch like homes, cars, clothes, and money. If none of these wets your appetite, more for you might be the current items in your Amazon shopping cart. The peculiar thing about more is that after whatever you desired is in your possession, the thrill associated with it quickly fades. As a result, the pursuit of more starts again.

Instead of searching for more most of your life, try chasing something that may bring an added bonus—contentment. When you find that state of peaceful happiness, your world will slowly begin to make sense. You will learn that some of the things you thought were important don’t matter as much. You may discover that what you thought you once desired was actually based on the outside influence of family, friends, or repetitive marketing messages designed to stimulate your emotions.

As an example, when people acquire more money, one of the normal patterns of behavior is to spend more. Money was never the real goal. It is only the medium by which something else could be secured to produce a specific feeling. If you take money out of the equation and ask the average person why they do anything, one response that is lurking just beneath the surface of complete honestly is… because I felt like it.

Satisfying those feelings comes at a cost. In the financial world, the dollar you spend today could be costing you four dollars of financial security, peace, and comfort in the future. Regarding money and your pursuit of more, have you ever asked yourself, “What is preventing me from saving/investing a larger amount on a monthly basis to better prepare for the higher cost of the life I want in the future?”

How much is enough? Only you can answer that question.