Good … [Enough]

The words good enough are all over this blog and are imprinted all over my social media. I figured I should probably explain why. I would love to say that I am a recovering perfectionist, but in all reality, I don’t think I’m quite in the recovery stage, yet. I do know it’s a problem, and I do know it’s not healthy. So I guess that’s a start?

Seriously, though, perfectionism is exhausting. I want to be good at everything. I want to do everything well, to succeed at anything I try. I want to be an example, someone people can and do look up to. I want to look good, feel good, do good, and be good. The reality? I can’t. I cannot do it all; I cannot be all things. After all, I am only human – something that my therapist reminds me of weekly. Humans are incapable of handling everything all at once. While I know this to be true, cognitively, it’s still really hard to accept and handle emotionally. I don’t *feel* like I want too much or aim too high. And sometimes? Whatever “it” is isn’t always out of reach. Now “it” can be anything – from a promotion to a project to a clean house, etc. The problem begins when I focus too much on the many “its” that I begin to neglect myself. To complicate matters even further, I crave change and chase novelty. That constant shifting playing field makes any target extremely hard to hit.

What’s a person to do? To me, it FEELS like there are two options: accept mediocrity or accept boredom. Yes, that is black and white, extreme thinking; and I know those are not the only two options. I know there has to be a middle ground. However, I can’t help feeling like they are it. My next thought? Is this what it feels like to get old, to slow down, to not be able to keep the plates spinning? Is this what makes some elderly people difficult as they cannot bring themselves to accept their limitations? Is that the wall that I am heading for?

I refuse to believe that. Or maybe, more accurately, I refuse to accept that is all there is. And that – THAT – is the premise behind being good enough. What AM I willing to accept? How much wiggle room am I willing to allow? I can’t be perfect, but I can be good enough. One of my goals for this blog is to discover, define, and flesh out exactly what that means to me.

I’m not sure exactly what *that* looks like, but I think I’m going to start by listing my priorities – both what I want them to be and what they are based on my actions. Those of you who have made it into the recovering perfectionist stage, how did you get there? Any advice, words of wisdom? Which steps did you find most helpful? And if you are in the same place as me, any other ideas to start? I’m confident that with a *little* work, we can get to the good enough stage!