Someone once posed the question, “What is the enemy of best?”
Although many are tempted to say it is “bad,” the answer is “good.”
“Good” is the enemy of “Best” because "Good" is much more likely to stop you from reaching your full potential than bad. “Good” or “Good Enough” is a place where you are not satisfied with your current position, but you're not uncomfortable enough to do something about it.
Which one of these is "Good" and which is "Best"?
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My Laptop
Some of you will remember I wrote about my laptop dying a while ago. It was sudden, but it shouldn’t have been unexpected. I bought the computer when I was consolidating my gaming desktop and my old laptop into one high-powered gaming laptop, the Fangbook.
However, it always had issues and wasn’t really what I needed. It overheated easily. It lost the ability to communicate with my printer. The USB ports were non-functioning, except for the wireless receiver for my mouse (no clue why only this worked).
The point is, it wasn’t helping me be the best I could be, but at the same time, it worked enough that I didn’t get a new computer. I was stuck muddling along because I wasn’t motivated enough to make a change. Well, that changed!
When the computer failed to turn on, then I knew I had to do something differently. I could no longer keep using the “good” computer, because it had become useless. It became a “bad” computer which awakened me to the need for a computer that was “best.” So I got a new computer.
“Good Enough” is a place where you are not satisfied with your current position, but you're not uncomfortable enough to do something about it.
Relationships
How many people are in a relationship with someone who they like, but aren’t crazy about? The person likes them and treats them well enough, but there aren’t any sparks.
Now, I understand that life isn’t like the movies and that when you kiss your “true love” your foot doesn’t have to POP! (e.g. Princess Diaries. Yes, I have seen it. Let’s move on). However, even if your foot doesn’t pop, there should be a certain je ne sais quoi, a special something between you that just makes you come ALIVE!
Je ne sais quoi: something (such as an appealing quality) that cannot be adequately described or expressed
See, foot pop!
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Jobs
The same thing can happen at jobs. You can get stuck at a job that pays the bills, but it sucks the life out of you. However, it pays the bills. But it sucks the life out of you. You get the idea.
The job is not bad enough that you’re willing to make a change because a change would require additional sacrifice and/or pain. If you start looking for a job while you have a challenging job, you have even less time for relaxing or for loved ones. However, if you quit so you have more time to look for a better job, then you don’t have as much money available… and what if you don’t find a job right away?!
Yes, there’s the fear factor too. The “what ifs” that could happen if you move from the current situation. Meanwhile, more life gets sucked out of you as you go back and forth between committing to quit, and committing to stay.
There are many reasons to not move from your current situation:
- Fear
- Exhaustion
- Discouragement
- Lack of vision/information
- Bargaining (with yourself)
- Laziness
- Finances
The list is long and you could add many more to it. This just scratches the surface, but any/all of the reasons can keep you from moving from “good” to “great!”
Don’t miss out on your full potential because you’re settling for “good enough.”
I'm going to be writing another post on what it looks like to start moving out of "good" and into "best." Stay tuned!
Thanks for reading. If you found this valuable, please considering upvoting and commenting below.
Note: Not life advice. The ideas presented here are for informational/entertainment purposes only. Do your own research. Make your own decisions. Use Wisdom if it’s available, common sense if it’s not. Seek counsel from trusted advisers if you so desire. Again, your choices are your own.
- What are ways you motivate yourself to not settle?
- What are some areas in your life that you need to give up “good” to get the “great” you’ve been dreaming of?
These are rhetorical questions. Please don’t feel like you need to answer in the comments. However, I encourage you to take some time to think about things you would like to improve and what steps you can take to move toward them.
I have a completely different take on "good enough". I think it is a wonderful thing but it's too late to write about it now. I'm just about off to bed. Maybe I'll vlog about it tomorrow.
Is this poor form to leave such a response on such a well presented and thought out article? I hope not! 😍
No worries. I look forward to hearing your thoughts. And don't get me wrong, sometimes "good enough" is all you can do right now. You work with what you have. If you have an older car that keeps breaking down, but you don't have the resources to get a newer car, it totally makes sense to keep fixing that car... or to ride the bus. I'm trying to proffer is that when you're in a position to move to something better than just "good," that it can be good for you!
Again, not life advice. Looking forward to your response. If you make a vlog post on it, feel free to comment back with the link.
I suppose I was thinking of it more when applied to ourselves or what we do rather than with regard material things.
I have found, for exmaple, that people who tend towards being a perfectionist can break a cycle of indecision or finally get something finished if they can allow themselves to be or do something in a "good enough" fashion rather than to their, often impossibly, high standards.
I have found that being and doing "good enough" has taken away a lot of the stress I used to feel and I'm far more relaxed about things,
Personally I don't see anything wrong with settling. It's striving that is the bigger "evil" in my opinion. 😊
That's an interesting perspective, and one that I can understand. There are times that we need to let it be good enough and just move forward. We could spend our whole lives looking for something that is perfect when there's something that's 98% great right in front of us.
There is a difference between "greatness" and "perfection." Greatness is doing the best you can within "reasonable" parameters. Perfection means no flaws, ever. If you strive for perfection, be it in your work or personal life, you will fail. You'll constantly be disappointed, and like you said above, can have a cycle of indecision. If you're able to replace it with striving for greatness, there might be some peace.
It's sort of a moral middle ground between perfection and settling. It allows you to aim for something perfect, but if you miss, it's still really good. And let that be "great enough."
I like your thoughts and appreciate you sharing them!
You're welcome @themanwithnoname. 😊
Fear is the worst... fear stops you from achieving true greatness! I always try to go for the very best and i never stay in the "good enough" part, everyone can be average, everyone can have the "good enough" but only true hard workers can achieve the best!
Fear can be a tough one to beat, but if you're able to do enough research that you feel comfortable moving forward with a decision, it can be beneficial and liberating for you.
Keep being the best, @teutonium!
You know what are never "good enough", but always the best?
Your replies to articles and comments.
:-)
Ha ha ha, I was worried for a moment. I'm glad I've surpassed the "good enough" level of commenting. Always a pleasure to have you stop by. I end up feeling a little better about my writing when you do. So thank you!
Bells ringing, I had the same with my computer, to change only when it popped, sometimes a change makes all the difference.
It can help. When it's as drastic as a computer dying, there's not much you can do to just "carry on." You have to do something different if you want to keep using the computer. You could go to the library, but that's still doing something different. Sorry about your computer though. It's a bummer. Hopefully you had your data backed up.
I agree with all of this. It's too bad that we can't just make these kinds of decisions and then execute them until they achieve best status while living in a vacuum. Because sometimes it's either stay married and stay with the good enough but soul sucking status quo, or go for best and get divorced.
Now, I'm a big proponent of both marriage and family, but getting to best as far as quitting a job or making some other life altering change is very difficult when it affects others. We therefore more often mortgage our short term happiness and well being for the good of the order, because any decision we make in life does not provide a best outcome or your money back guarantee.
When the kids get older and move out, making such moves can be easier, if the spouse isn't more set in their ways—financial security being what it is—but it's still like pulling teeth.
Yeah, I wasn't advocating divorce. It was more that if you're dating someone just because they're there, it might not lead to lasting happiness.
And it's true, there aren't money-back guarantees on most things in life. Although Costco does have a pretty good return policy. ;)
Change can be difficult. In the next post, we're going to look more at what it takes to get to a place where a person is willing to move to something else. Maybe your wife will even get to the point where she'll let you buy silver. Ha ha.
Again, not life advice.