Back in my earlier days I used to be a bit of a perfectionist. Way back in grade school I remember staying after school rewriting a letter to the California state capital requesting information for my state report. The unusual part of this story is that it took me over 30 attempts. The letter was in ink and cursive. I wanted it just right. My teacher was impressed, but looking back, I wished I'd have known a great secret:
Sometimes, good enough is good enough!
Many years later as a computer programmer I had a boss who helped me learn this. I liked to create nice looking computer reports, but sometimes we needed to to what we called a "quick and dirty." With various time constraints I learned that not every project had to be my best work. There wasn't enough time.
My boss explained that sometimes we could only give our client a Volkswagen. We couldn't afford to give them a Cadillac.
Put in more common terms, When you're hungry, fast-food will do. You don't need gourmet, you just need some food.
I shorten the lesson learned to this: Sometimes... good enough is!
This little lesson helps me maintain my sanity since I can be prone to over-achieve, over-do, or over-obsess. Relax. I've learned to take a deep breath and decide up front: Do I need the Cadillac version, Volkswagen, something in-between, or just a skateboard?
I've only recently been following your blog so I apologise if you've already made a comment about the photos but can I ask - are they your own. If so, I'm very impressed. The combination of photos and text is super!
ReplyDeleteA few years back a commercial enigmatically asked, "Is good enough...ever really good enough?"
ReplyDeleteI thought it was a good little quote - if you always only do good "enough" then you're missing the opportunity to do something better or even great.
However, I've had enough "good enough" moments in my life that I see more of myself in your post than that commercial...hahaha.....
My dad once said, "Son, just try to be above average." At the time I thought that was low aim. Now I see that as a sustainable goal. But even above average is too much sometimes. Other times do call for your absolute best, your "A" game, your peak performance. But those events of "top notch" are not day-to-day living.
ReplyDeleteScriptor -- Thanks for stopping by and for the kind remarks.
ReplyDelete99% or more of the pictures are mine. I've posted 2 or 3 that my kids have taken, and any I've borrowed from other sites I post a link. So almost all of the photos are mine. It's another bonus of blogging, finding people to share my photographic explorations with.