How to make life decisions towards sufficiency and contentment

IN THE aftermath of the global financial crisis which caused many to lose their wealth, I had an epiphany in 2010 to develop a “philosophy of sufficiency” for my firm. It is one that anchors the way we plan and invest for and advise our clients.

In sufficiency, you don’t maximise investment returns; instead, you seek the most reliable way to achieve enough returns to meet your needs. You don’t overinsure yourself and overpay your insurance premiums, but cover yourself adequately at the lowest possible cost. You don’t just save all your surplus for the future, but use part of it on important things that must be done today.

So, the philosophy of sufficiency is also the “philosophy of contentment”, because contentment is not passive resignation, but accepting that you cannot have everything; you actively pursue what is most important for you, knowing that is enough. Decisions on which things are most important are what I call life decisions. I also refer to life decisions as “ikigai decisions”.