What was going through this guy’s head when he was thinking that his best wasn’t good enough? Good enough for whom? Himself? His peers? His parents? Society?

I started to think about all the times when I have heard people say similar things either to others or about themselves and it made me feel a little bit sad and a little bit angry. I remembered hearing schoolteachers say it to pupils and coaches say it to athletes and even me saying it to myself many years ago. My best simply wasn’t good enough. Even as I am writing this I can’t help but envision the sigh and the slumping of the shoulders of the person that receives such information even if it is from themselves.

How do we measure good enough?

If it was a goal of somebody’s it certainly wouldn’t classify as a SMART goal because it isn’t specific, measurable, action oriented or time bound. I guess it could be realistic but we don’t really have enough information so it pretty much misses every criterion.

Every day we get up and move about the world with two options. We can do the best job we possibly can and by job I mean anything from looking after an infant to going to work to playing tennis or whatever else it is you do each day, or we can drift along half-heartedly. There are no other options, there is no best and a bit more, there is no 110% (no matter what you hear athletes being interviewed saying) or better than best. We can only do our best.

So bearing that in mind and realizing the importance of language why on earth would we ever tell anybody there best wasn’t good enough when it is all they have to offer? I understand that sometimes trying your best doesn’t guarantee that you get that job, win that race, attract that partner etc but so what? Giving your best is victory in its own right and if you ever feel like you have done that but still not won the prize, pat yourself on the back nevertheless and say that was a job well done.