Your Good Is Not Best Enough -- Writer's Poke #133

For Writers:

The ideal of perfection is not good for morale.

Since when did the definition of "good" become "not good enough"? Take, for example, the popular book Good to Great. If something is good -- a business, a life, etc. -- why can't we be satisfied? And what is the standard by which we measure good against great, anyway?

A cliched phrase that has lost all meaning is "best practices." In the business world, you'll often hear people talk about "best practices," as though what works best for others can somehow be retrofitted to work best for everyone. Does that ever really work? Not in my experience.

The conclusion: humans aren't perfect, nor do we need to be. The standard by which we should be measured is "good," and to measure humanity by any other standard is an insult.

Think about something specific in your life that is good. Explain why you believe good really is "good enough" in this case.

"Have no fear of perfection -- you'll never reach it." -- Salvador Dali

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