The Art of Enough caught my eye on Netgalley because I’m concerned about all the excesses of the western world. That contributes to the mess we’re in, climatically, socially and possibly healthwise. Becky Hall is a psychologist, and her concern over Enough is more about our expectations of ourselves. But it all links together, and acceptance of ourselves might lead to acceptance of a less wasteful lifestyle. Thank you, Netgalley and the publishers, for the chance to read an early copy.

The Art of Enough: 7 ways to build a balanced life and a flourishing world

by Becky Hall

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.

My Review

I think Becky Hall goes right to the heart of our overconsumption and anxieties by her starting point. Are you haunted by not being Enough? What happened early in your life to make you carry messages about that make you want to always do more – or always hide away?

This is a self-help book. I don’t read many self-help books, but this one is genuinely useful. I have a combination of driving to be perfect, to live up to my older brothers, and an inadequacy that I can never be good enough, so should keep in the shadows. Becky Hall gives you several exercises to help you explore your past and to delve into the things that make you uncomfortable, whether it drives you to excess, or too little.

I found this an easy read, but also a very thought-provoking one. Like Humankind last year, it reinforces the view that most of us are nice, kind and helpful people. And we are likely to take on these ideas of Enough. We want to solve some of the dreadful problems we’ve got our world into.

The big question is, how do we get those leaders, in many countries, who want nothing more than to dominate the world. They are driven to make so much money that they can never ever spend it. Because they are the ones who are wrecking our planet.

And yet… as always the EID newsletter last weekend had a reminder not to give up.

“Don’t accept that you can’t make a difference. Because if you can’t make a difference, you won’t make a difference, and if you put a multiplier on that we will continue on an unsustainable pathway.”

Maurice Strong (1929-2015), Canadian businessman and diplomat, Secretary General of the UN Conference on the Human Environment (1972 Stockholm ) then the first executive director of the UN Environment Programme

Read Art of Enough – take action. You’ll feel better for it.

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Book Review | The Art of Enough by Becky Hall
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5 thoughts on “Book Review | The Art of Enough by Becky Hall

  • 6 November, 2021 at 3:06 pm
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    We’ve found as we have gotten older that ‘enough’ is easier to determine. Downsizing last year helped with that. And it’s allowed us to consider the environment more!

    • 6 November, 2021 at 4:14 pm
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      I agree, Noelle. I think I understood the concept of Enough around the Millennium. But it would have been so much easier for my career if I’d known it fifteen years earlier. I hope more people in their thirties, and especially those on the Climate March at COP26 today, can review this and be more effective as a result.

  • 6 November, 2021 at 9:02 pm
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    Great review. Sounds like an interesting read. KL ❤️

    • 11 November, 2021 at 11:16 am
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      From what you said in your round-up post this week, it sounds like it’s made for you 🙂

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