“Well Enough” is for Losers

No matter what’s sitting in front of you today, go for it. Truly invest thought and effort into it no matter how menial. There’s no pass for “well enough.” When we settle for less, we train ourselves that “good enough” is an acceptable standard.

In Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman describes two systems of thought:

  • System 1 – fast, decisive, intuitive
  • System 2 – analytical, thoughtful, deliberate thought

Over time, the System 2 thoughts and actions become so routine that you can act almost without any thought. Take driving for example. When you  first drove a car, every thought was about driving: hand placement on the wheel, accelerating, braking, looking for all potential dangers on the road, and generally a ball of nerves while driving. Now, you probably drive without thought and may even slip a text in here and there. The act of driving moved from System 2 to System 1.

When we deliberately settle for “just enough,” it reprograms and lowers our “standard.” Whether drafting an email or writing a note of appreciation, make it glorious. Deliberately creating a high standard, in turn programs higher standards into everything we do. We are, after all, extraordinary creatures, and every activity that we put or minds to should be…extraordinary.

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Jeremy Floyd

Jeremy Floyd is the President at FUNYL Commerce. Formerly, he was the CEO and President of Lirio, Bluegill Creative, a marketing and communications firm in Knoxville, Tennessee. In addition to managing the digital strategies, Floyd was an adjunct professor for the University of Tennessee Chattanooga MBA program teaching digital strategies and social media. Floyd blogs at jeremyfloyd.com and tweets under the name @jfloyd. Jeremy is licensed to practice law in the State of Tennessee and holds a law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from MTSU in English and Philosophy.

  • Tim Ferraris

    On the other hand, perfectionists often struggle with shipping.

    Sometimes the tinkering needs to stop, the perfectionist needs to realize that their widget is good enough, and just ship the darn thing already.

    Granted, this is more than “just enough,” but all I’m saying is that the pursuit of extraordinary is the enemy of progress if it continues without ceasing to share the work with the world.

    But yeah, I see what you’re saying here.