The Equation of Enough

= The Equation of Enough: A 3-Minute Victory =
I’ve seen soldiers collapse from exhaustion because they believed "enough" meant pushing until they broke. I’ve sat with first responders who thought asking for help was weakness. The Equation of Enough isn’t about grand gestures. It’s about the tiny, quiet moments where you choose yourself.

Last Tuesday, I sat at my kitchen table after 7 PM. My phone buzzed with a new email from a client—urgent, it said. My old self would’ve jumped up, opened the laptop, and worked until my eyes blurred. The military medic in me still whispered: You’re on duty. Always.

But I didn’t move. I put my hand over the phone. Just sat. Watched the sunset through the window. Listened to my own breath. For three minutes, I wasn’t a therapist. I wasn’t a veteran. I was just Lois, eating cold coffee and noticing the way light hit the trees.

This wasn’t a big win. No one saw it. But it mattered because it proved something I’d forgotten: I am allowed to stop. I don’t have to be "on" for everyone, all the time. The Equation of Enough isn’t about how much you give—it’s about how much you keep for yourself.

Courage isn’t what you think. It’s not charging into battle. It’s choosing to sit still when the world screams to move. It’s realizing that surviving trauma means building a life where you don’t need to be a hero every single minute.

Here’s what works: When the urge to "do more" hits, pause. Breathe. Ask: Is this necessary, or is it just habit? Then, do the thing that feels like a small rebellion. Because the bravest thing you can do is say, "I’m enough as I am."

— Lois Brown, still serving

Written by Lois Brown — 12:24, 14 January 2026 (CST)