Stay Plenty Enough Already

An alert reader shelli stein (apparently I’m not the only one who loves the simplicity and lower ink weight of all lower case) forwarded me a picture she snapped of a sign in Honolulu, Hawaii, which had a speed limit of 20 mph and the words “STAY PLENTY ENOUGH ALREADY”.  I was intrigued.

Part of it was the timing.  With it being near the beginning of the year, there have been plenty of posts, even from the very few people I follow, on the general concept of New Year’s resolutions.  Some of the takes on the practice have been thought-provoking.

A guest post on Becoming Minimalist by Heather Aardema of the School of living lighter (another lower case fan, judging by their website) recommended, instead of resolutions, to use the start of the year to reflect on 3 of the best decisions you made last year.  Heather puts them on a spreadsheet, and reviews the best decisions of the previous years while she’s at it.  Instead of setting yourself up for guilt and shame about resolutions you’ll end up quitting on, this exercise primes the brain with what went right last year.  One of my top 3 would have to be the decision to publish and promote take less. do more.  The other two would relate to saying “yes” to trip opportunities, and the decision to buy a small pasta maker.  What are 3 of your best decisions last year?

Back to the Honolulu street sign… Since saying “yes” to opportunities were some great decisions last year, my first thought, since Pidgin is not one of the languages I’m studying on Babbel, was that it was urging people to slow down, so they were ready for whatever might be around the next corner.  In the driving context, it could be a kid chasing a ball, a cyclist, or dog, etc.  In life, creating margin of time, money and energy gives us the opportunity to be curious about and sensitive to what’s going on around us.  The margins also give us the ability to say “yes” to opportunities that might be around the next bend.

When I did a little more research, I found out I was wrong, and the correct translation was even MORE powerful!  The sign translates roughly to “please stay adequately satisfied” or “please remain content with what is sufficient.”  It turns out that in the Hawaiian culture, “plenty enough already” expresses the idea of having enough, or being satisfied. So in the case of the sign, it’s saying, “Hey, 20 mph is fast enough, you don’t need to go faster.”  But what a great sentiment for 2025… to slow down, take stock and be grateful for what we have, and not chase so hard after more in the mistaken belief that it will make us happy.  So my wish for your year is STAY PLENTY ENOUGH ALREADY.