CHISOKU

Cozy in a corner of my local coffee shop, I came across the Japanese term chisoku. Its meaning can be translated to a simple phrase “be satisfied.” Inspired and sipping my vanilla latte, I couldn’t help but wonder if the American version is “there is always more.” 

The internet has given us opportunities our parents' generation couldn’t begin to fathom. A way to make a living without ever leaving home or even physically making something. (Insert brain-exploding emoji here.) 

We have access to more money, more clothes, more fame, and followers than ever before. But the cognitive dissonance between more access and our collective mental state has me wondering whether we’ve lost all notion of what it means to “be satisfied.” 

Capitalism touts that having a lot of choices equals freedom. The moment those choices are taken away, well, we’re obviously on a slippery slope to communism. America in a nutshell, right? 

But as I’ve witnessed firsthand by the thousands of users who’ve come through Cladwell’s doors, myself included, there’s a paradox of choice. Muttering “I have nothing to wear” while staring at our overstuffed closet reveals that having the freedom to choose doesn’t mean we have the ability. 

An overwhelming amount of choice actually limits freedom. And if we follow the world’s standard for how much we “should have,” we will never have enough, never truly feel chisoku.

Of course, wanting something new for ourselves isn’t bad. Growing and evolving is natural. I love reinventing my seasonal style or going after a new dream—some might even say I’m good at it. Yet there are times when, deep down in my bones,  I feel a panic of sorts, that my “wanting” is driven by something other than me entirely. 

When I’m unaware or caught up in everyday life, I easily slip into the “there’s-always-more” trap. I feel guilty for not doing enough, working enough, having enough, being enough. In this mode, it’s like I’m riding one of those airport walkways. A kind of conveyor belt that moves me forward for as long as I mindlessly stay on it. No one is going to tell me to get off the walkway—not the ads, influencers, or articles—because the destination is their gain.

There will always be more clothes I could buy. More capital I could go after. More to-do’s I could check off. More. More. More.

But more is not the answer. True freedom is found in choosing what’s “enough.”

In the past, I’ve confused “being enough” with “being complacent.” Complacency tricks me into believing that enough is about giving up — accepting the bare minimum and being okay with it. 

In truth, it’s quite the opposite.

The only way to truly achieve chisoku is to accept what we’re not okay with and act on behalf of it. To climb over the rail, step off the walkway, and move forward in an entirely different direction, one that feels true. 

It can be scary at first. We may feel uneasy watching the conveyor (items we could buy, ideas we could turn into businesses, followers we could get) pass us by, but in time freedom shows up in setting a boundary—not in crossing one.

Abandoning the mentality of more. Choosing chisoku.