Good Enough

Sometimes good enough, is good enough. I hate the negative connotation behind this phrase, when you hear it you typically think of it as an excuse for laziness. While sometimes that is the case, there are many instances where reminding yourself of this phrase is actually very beneficial. Many people have a problem with perfectionism, the idea that everything they do or create must be flawless and perfected. In certain areas of life this is a great character trait, it keeps us producing quality work and putting in our best efforts. However, if you allow this mindset to take over in everything you do, you will waste countless hours trying to perfect something that simply isn’t worth it. That’s where that little phrase comes in, sometimes good enough, is good enough.

Imagine you’re working on two projects, one is a writeup for work that needs to be 100% accurate and well written, the future of your career could be affected by the quality of this writeup. Now imagine you’re also working on a letter to an old friend, you want it to be heartfelt and well written, but you also know they are going to appreciate it no matter what. In the first situation, you’d want to let that perfectionist side shine through, everything from grammar and punctuation, to factuality and accuracy, you’d want your writeup to be perfect. Our first scenario will affect your future and could have a huge impact on your job, perfection isn’t only okay here, it’s preferred. However, in scenario two we have a lot more room for error. Unless your friend is an English professor at Yale, they probably aren’t going to care if all of your grammar is perfect or if that comma is our of place. In this situation, you could spend hours of time trying to perfect your letter, when you should be putting that energy into your writeup for work. This is where you should make sure your less important work is good enough, and leave it at that. Otherwise you’ll spend unnecessary amount of time where it shouldn’t be spent.

I know that was a very specific example, but this concept can be applied to a lot of other situations you’ll find yourself in. Perfectionism can be great, but it can also be a bad habit that causes unneeded stress and wastes time. It isn’t lazy to accept your work as good enough, it’s efficient and practical. Just ask yourself if what you’re working on needs to be perfect, ask if it’s really necessary to be spending all that time and effort. If you find that whatever you’re working on doesn’t need to be perfected, stop wasting your time, get it to a point you’re happy with, and be done. Work smarter, not harder, and just remember that sometimes good enough, really is good enough.

-Braden Schmidt 11-17-2019