Who decides what is good enough? Too often we allow ourselves to be influenced by what other people say and what other people’s expectations are. But when do we stop and allow ourselves to set the bar for ourselves?
That’s what deciding to be good enough is all about. No one else can say what your “good enough” is - only you can decide what is good enough. And it is not about being good enough for someone else. It is first, and foremost, about being good enough for yourself. You should not be expected to live up to someone else’s standards, to society’s standards. The bar is set too high for an average individual to reach. So set your own standards, put the bar at a height that is reachable, and decide what is your “good enough”. Because being good enough is deciding for yourself where the bar is going to be set and allowing yourself to reach that bar. Each and every time.
When I was in grad school, I often found myself pushing and pushing myself to always get an ‘A’ on all of my assignments, no matter the subject, no matter the difficulty of the assignment. I caught myself often times pushing so hard to stay awake and pull all-nighters for the best paper that I was sacrificing my own health for a grade. When finally, I began to decide for myself that a ‘B’ on a paper is good enough, and so is a good night’s rest. Because if I kept pushing myself to get those ‘A’s, I was not going to be able to enjoy it if I was constantly tired and run-down from overexerting myself.
So I decided to be good enough. For me, myself and I. Because the most important relationship that I have is with myself and if I am not able to take care of myself, accept who I am, accept what I am reaching for, accept what faults I have, then what kind of a relationships can I have with other people? These are the moments that I put myself first. That I put my self-care above the care others. That I expect the best that I can try to achieve and that will always be good enough.
