Hi there,
On Monday, I woke up and felt like the day was already asking too much of me. You ever felt that way? Like before you even have your first sip of coffee, the world is throwing a hundred curve balls your way, expecting you to be at your best? It sucks, right?
The feeling was way worse than usual, and it got me thinking how funny it is that we’re always told to do our best like that’s simply a rule that applies to every single day. But what if our best today isn’t what it was yesterday? What if good enough is actually… good enough (and I know this sounds dumb initially)?
I used to believe that if I wasn’t pushing myself to the max, I was somehow failing. If I didn’t check off every single thing on my to-do list, if I didn’t give 110% at work, if I didn’t get the best possible result in everything I touched, then what was the point?
But the truth is that (and we’ve touched on that many times before) chasing perfection is simply way too exhausting. And most of the time, nobody even notices whether we hit perfect or just decent.
Over the past month I’ve been working to transform our attic in a small office space. A little project that wasn’t that important, but once I started, I felt like I had to do it perfectly. I spent way too much time trying to make every little detail just right, only to step back and realize… it didn’t even matter. It was already good enough two weeks ago. And you know what? No one else would’ve noticed the difference.
And this got me thinking about how much of my life have I spent chasing this invisible perfect finish line. How often have I been worn out, stressed, or frustrated just because I thought something had to be better, when in reality, it was already fine?
So, last Friday I decided to try something different. I told myself that this day I’m only going to do just enough. Not in a lazy way, but in a way that lets me actually enjoy the day instead of feeling buried under it. First, I let my morning coffee be good enough. Then, I let my work be good enough. I let a few items on my to-do list stay unfinished. And guess what? The world kept spinning. Nothing fell apart. And I wasn’t a ball of stress by the end of the day. Sounds like a pretty good deal, right?
I think we sometimes forget that life isn’t a competition and there’s no one handing out medals for being the most exhausted, the most overworked, or the most stressed out.
And yet, we act like they are. We push ourselves to impossible standards, thinking we must be everything to everyone all the time. And I honestly don’t know why. Do you? Who decided that was the goal?
And don’t get me wrong, I know there are times when we need to push more. Some days really do call for our best effort. But certainly not every day. Most of the time, we just need to show up, do what we realistically can, and be okay with that.
Think about how kids don’t care if their drawing is perfect (I think I made the same example last week…). They don’t worry if their handwriting is messy or if their blocks tower could’ve been a little straighter. They just create, they play, and they move on. And somewhere along the way to becoming an adult, we forget that. We start measuring everything and worrying about whether what we did was enough, or if someone else did it better.
So maybe today, instead of aiming for perfect, we just aim for done. Maybe instead of stressing over every detail, we remind ourselves that good enough is good enough.
Remember the Pareto principle – 20% of the effort gets 80% of the work done. The other 20% takes up much more effort. Okay, maybe doing stuff at 80% is not always enough. But I am pretty sure 95% is more than enough in most situations, so we don’t need to stress over achieving the coveted perfection at 100%.
And if that means leaving dishes in the sink tonight, or not answering every email the second it comes in, or letting your kid wear mismatched socks because the laundry’s not folded and you can’t find matching ones and, honestly, who cares – then so be it. Life is too short to always be chasing an impossible standard.
Anyway, that’s where my head’s been this week. Just thought I’d share. Hope you have a great day – one that’s good enough in the best possible way.
Till next week,
Dobri 🍃