Why Good Often IS Good Enough
The pursuit of excellence is widely lauded. Of course, “best and brightest” people and the organizations they work for may be wise to demand excellence. But we mere mortals, rather than insisting on excellence, may be wiser to pursue just good. That can be true both in career and in relationships.
Career
Recently, a client and I agreed on the appropriate job target — an entry-level operations manager in a real-estate development firm. We then created a step-by-step plan for landing such a job. At the end of the session, I asked, “Would you bet that, in the next week, you’d execute on that plan?” He said, “Probably not.”
After some exploration, the reason came clear: He felt he needed to be the best — Average wouldn’t do..
That may sound correct but it’s actually not. Of course, to land a job, you must be the best of the applicant pool, at least when decisions are based on merit. But even today, when the COVID economic shutdown has at least quadrupled the unemployment rate since late March, 80+ percent of the potential workforce is employed. By definition, not all of them are “the best.” or even the best at a particular job. Some quite-average people are employed, often well-employed.
Having selected a job for which you are a good fit means you’ll be a worthy hire and, with effort, can be at least a good performer, maybe even a very good one.
After exploring that with my client, I asked him again, “Are you likely to execute on the plan?” He said yes. I knew he might have said that just because he knew that’s what I wanted to hear. So I then asked, “Really? Tell me the truth.” He said, in a credible tone of voice and facial expression, “Yes.” It’s been a week now and in our next session, he did execute on the plan and that has generated two leads.
In the real world, unless you’re aiming for a lofty job, good often is good enough. What tends to matter most is persistence. Per the famous quote,
Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race. — Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States
The same is true after you’ve landed a job. Try to banish thoughts about whether other people are better than you are. Rather, focus on working, per a recent post, at 90% of your best (It’s too tough to sustain 100%) and let go of the outcome.
Relationships
Only a tiny percentage of people are newscaster-type Pretty People or PBS Articulates. Yet most mere mortals who want to be coupled can be. As my mother used to say, “There’s a lid for every pot.”
So, yes, aim to be 90% of the best you can be. Then put yourself out there, whether for romantic, platonic, or familial relationships. Ask friends and relatives for recommendations and reach out to them. Of course, as with job seekers, most of your reach-outs won’t be successful, but likely, at least one will.
The takeaway
It’s natural to strive for excellence and to feel yourself inferior to others. But it’s worth keeping in mind that good often is good enough — at least for now.
When you’ve achieved good and if you feel it’s worth striving higher, that may be the time to take steps toward excellence. But don’t restrict your life waiting on the sidelines just because you might be only good.
I read this aloud on YouTube.
You can reach career and personal advisor Dr. Marty Nemko at mnemko@comcast.net. He is the author of 12 books including Careers for Dummies.
