"Good Enough" Is the Enemy of Good

They say “Perfect is the enemy of good.”

I’m here to make the case that “good enough” is also the enemy of good.

Most people will do the minimum they can get away with.

I was reminded of it this past weekend when I was unraveling all the “good enough” left by the contractor who installed heating and cooling systems in my duplex.

It started with finding that the mini split condensate lines were not properly drained and were being directed right next to my building, leaking through the foundation into the basement.

Great. Thanks. 👍

Then heading to the back of the building to find one of the ac units improperly leveled, leaning forward, and its electrical box holding onto the building for dear life by only one of 3 anchors that actually took.

Nice. 👍

I often use the quote “A man is about as big as the things that upset him.”

Unfortunately, this is as big as I am.

I’m also as big as the Jeep dashboard duck phenomenon where people hinder their visibility with toys while driving 6000lb death machines.

I will never get political on here. But if I did run for any form of office, that would be literally the only thing I run on.

“STOP JEEPS” ← My campaign slogan

Lazy, half-assed work upsets me.

Always has.

I believe a man should always be in pursuit of the best version of himself.

If you’re going to do something, then try to do it well.

I’m ok with someone doing poor work because their skills haven’t matched their taste yet. That’s where we all start. But having the skills and not using the skills, that I cannot abide.

“How you do anything is how you do everything.”

“Good enough” is a short-term play. It keeps you at a perpetual plateau.

People make the mistake of thinking that going downhill is the worst thing. It’s not. Being in perpetual limbo is the worst thing. With a downhill run, at least a new variable (probably pain) has been introduced that could trigger a change. But being in perpetual “good enough” is how you wake up 20 or 30 years later only to realize you never became who you could have been. It’s what nightmares are made of.

It’s the age-old story of working a soulless corporate job that never lit you up or challenged you but it paid well and didn’t inflict much pressure. It was “good enough”.

It only cost you your potential.

It only cost you seeing what you are actually made of.

Stopping at “good enough” is the same as doing a set of 5 reps at the gym when you could have done 10. It’s better than nothing, you’ll probably maintain, but you’ll never grow.

Work is a communal offering, because choosing good work over “good enough” creates a positive butterfly effect that impacts all who interact with it (and you).

Good spreads good. EXPONENTIALLY.

And it can be doing literally anything.

It could be being the best trash man who makes each day fun for the crew and takes pride in his work. He takes the care of putting trash cans back where he picked them up, not leaving them in the street (Looking at you KC TRASH DUDES). He starts a snowball fight with kids during a snow day that they’ll always remember.

This is better than being a well-paid, numbed-out middle-manager who has quietly quit and has just submitted to a life of “good enough”.

“Good enough” is death to a man’s soul.

Men need a mountain to climb, not a sidewalk to stroll. We become lost without one. Excellence is a beautiful mountain.

p.s. Are you subscribed to my YouTube Channel where I go in depth on all of this kind of stuff??? You should be.