Description
Book Synopsis***THE PEOPLE'S BOOK PRIZE 2022/23 SHORTLISTED TITLE***
Ever feel like you aren’t Enough? Overwhelmed by too many demands?
Concerned about over-consumption and the climate crisis
You’re not alone. The Art of Enough is the challenge of our age.
In a world full of pressure to be more, do more and consume more, this practical guidebook will help you find your own version of Enough. Enough is a springboard for self-belief, a healthy work pace and sustainable living, so you can move from striving to thriving.
Weaving together ideas, stories and practices, The Art of Enough offers seven ways to ease away from the pull of scarcity and excess, towards flourishing with Enough; finding the balance and boundaries we all need for ourselves and for our world.
Becky Hall is a coach, facilitator and speaker and has worked for over 20 years with teams, organizations and leaders, helping busy people all over the world create their own Art of Enough.
‘If you want to have a better life and to make the world a better place then you must read this book. It is wise and practical and beautifully easy to read, everybody should read it’
Charles Handy, bestselling author of The Empty Raincoat and The Second Curve.
Trade ReviewFor people that constantly need/ want to do more, this book is AWESOME! Read it now. For people who worry they consume or buy too much, this book is AWESOME, too! Read it now.
* NetGalley *
So much of this book resonates with me. We are taught from an early age to strive to ' be good '. To do well at school , to be top of the class, to get the best exam results, to go on to the best university.
Then when an adult , we want to be seen to be at the top of our career, to be thought well of by our peers. To holiday in lovely places, to have a fantastic home, and great relationships, well adjusted children. Rinse and repeat.
This book almost gives you permission to step off that merry-go round , or at least the idea that you can look at life in a different way.
A great thought provoking book.
* NetGalley *
This is an excellent book about finding balance in a driven world. About finding the place between scarcity and abundance where you can live happy and content. Sounds simple, and in a way, it is, but we are required to totally rethink our mindsets so that we stop competing and comparing and start looking properly at ourselves and our ambitions. I found it very positive and many of the ideas are easily transferable for me.
* NetGalley *
If you're at a crossroads in life this is a great book
I am in my early 20s and read this book after taking a job I didn't really care for in the pandemic. I was unsure of what path I wanted to take next and felt quite lost. Reading this book helped me to evaluate what was important for me in life and what I wanted my life to look like. I am now in a much better job, with a much healthier work-life balance and I feel this is due to the guidance this book gave me.
* Amazon *
This book is a MUST BUY for anyone who is looking for some thought provoking insight on their ability to "Be Enough", just as they are. It is laid out in a really practical and useful way, with exercises and summaries to allow us to "dip in and out" when we feel a need. The Art of Enough is a truly supportive resource when we feel the need to to find a way to unburden and unleash our natural power, to grab hold of the restricting boundaries of our limiting beliefs to grow beyond self sabotage.
* Amazon *
"a deeply human and hopeful book"
Paul Heardman
* Coaching at Work *
I enjoyed this book and highly recommended it because of the author’s total commitment and passion for helping other people find their way to enough.
* GoodReads *
Table of ContentsPart 1: The inner challenge of BEING ENOUGH
Chapter 1: ART 1: ENOUGH MINDSET – Where are you coming from?
In this chapter we will explore the thinking – the Mindset behind not being Enough. For some this can manifest as the well-known phenomenon imposter syndrome – a common result of not feeling good Enough – for others it might be a feeling of inadequacy around not being worthy, or clever or kind – the list goes on. We will be exploring how we can move our Mindset from one of Scarcity or Excess to Enough – sourcing our thinking from abundance.
So we will:
· Explore imposter syndrome – what it is and how to tackle it
· Unpack the power of our mindset to frame our experience.
· Look at the mindsets of Excess and Scarcity and how they might hold us back
· Describe the principle beliefs of an Enough Mindset.
· Look at how you can identify what mindset you are using and how you might go about changing it.
Chapter 2: ART 2: ENOUGH PERMISSION - Write your own permission slips
In ART 1 we looked at defining and describing the mindset behind being Enough. We focused on thinking and mental constructs. In ART 2, we are going to focus on feelings: how it feels to give ourselves permission to be enough – and what might make us feel that we do not have that permission.
We will explore:
· The concept of belonging and why it can have such a hold over what we are able to be in the present.
· Where some of your deepest assumptions come from – whether they are serving you in the present and how you can dis-entangle yourself if you need to.
· How you can re-write the script of your own belonging – giving yourself permission to be Enough
· Articulating your core purpose and values
· Writing your own permission slips to be fully yourself and grow in the way that fulfils you - Enough.
Chapter 3: ART 3: ENOUGH PRESENCE - Listen to your body
In ART 3 - Enough Presence – How to Embody a State of Enough we explore how to create the embodied energetic state of Enough. Having considered how to BELIEVE we are Enough and how to FEEL we are Enough – we now explore how we can be in a STATE of Enough. To do this we need to understand that we are one internal system – integrating Enough Mindset and Enough Permission in our state – how we show up in each moment – defined as Enough Presence. With Enough Presence, we create coherence in our system, our minds, bodies and energy - one moment at a time.
We will:
· Consider what presence is – and what it takes to create Enough Presence.
· Explore what happens in our bodies when we lose balance; how we are programmed to respond to risk and danger.
· Unpack research about neuroscience and our physiology that help us see and understand ourselves as an interconnected coherent system.
· Explore how listen to what our head, heart and gut is telling us
· Learn practices to bring us into the state of Enough Presence – that we can use in the moment, moving us away from Scarcity and Excess and into Flow.
PART 2: The Outer Challenge of DOING ENOUGH
ART 4: ENOUGH BOUNDARIES - Create rules to keep you coherent
The globalized digital world we live in is so full of possibilities, choices and freedoms that our ancestors never experienced – and it is also massively complex. To live well in such complexity we need to find a way of giving ourselves structure so that we have Enough – not too much or too little. Of course, the boundaries we are talking about here are good boundaries – ones that give us structure and containment, which we need more than ever if we are to find the Art of Enough so that we can flourish.
ART 4 looks specifically at how to create and keep good boundaries within the complexity of our lives and the high volume of demands on us. We’ll explore:
· The importance of acknowledging what is, so that you can start to make choices
· How nature does it - what we can learn about creating boundaries for our complex lives
· Identifying what matters most
· Understanding your energy patterns
· Designing your days and protecting your focus
· The joy of clear boundaries
Chapter 5: ART 5: ENOUGH RESOURCE
In ART 5 we explore the resources we need. This can mean internal resource – energy, capability, drive - or external resource – time, support, others to delegate to. Often when we are overwhelmed, we can feel disconnected from our resources. We will look at Enough Resource as a replenishable cycle - and will explore the habits that you can develop in order to sustain yourself in the face of life’s demands on you.
Specifically, ART 5: Enough Resource will explore:
· The cyclical nature of Enough Resource
· The power of mapping what depletes and replenishes you
· Burnout – how to avoid it and build powerful habits to sustain you
PART 3: The together challenge of HAVING ENOUGH
Chapter 6: ENOUGH GROWTH – from size to transformation
As a society we massively over consume and throw away more each year than our forebears ever had in a lifetime. Our economies are measured in terms of GDP growth. This mindset and these behaviours have brought us to the brink of environmental collapse, and it has not made us happier either. In ART 6 we are going to explore the freedom of limits. Even the concept of Enough Growth can feel limiting or restrictive to some. For others it can be a byword for mediocrity and a lack of ambition. Here we are going to turn that thinking on its head and explore Enough Growth as the doorway to realising our ambitions, fulfilling our maximum potential and finding happiness. We’ll look here at how we can achieve Enough Growth – individually and collectively - so that we can flourish and thrive without it costing the earth.
We will explore:
· The Enough Growth cycle
· The freedom of limits
· The myth of never-ending growth
· Doughnut thinking
· When less is more
· Dreams of transformation
Chapter 7: ART 7: ENOUGH TOGETHER - Only connect
In ART 7 we will explore the seventh part of the Art of Enough model – Enough Connection. We will look at the effect of connection on our sense of belonging, our sense of agency and our relationship with the world we inhabit. We will explore the impact of separation on us individually and collectively, and how we can move beyond both Scarcity and Excess towards Connection - a wholehearted, resourcing and restorative state of Enough. In this chapter we will look at:
· Why we need Connection; the story of separation
· Enough Connection with ourselves
· Enough Connection with others
· Enough Connection with the natural world
Epilogue: Enough Transformation
