….but you could have done better….

Sometimes we can never “win enough.”

We had a good day on the athletic field, but are told it wasn’t as good as our sister used to do. We had great scholastic test results, but we weren’t in the top one percent. We closed a sale, but the client chose option two and not the higher option three.

On any given morning, when I receive about 30 headlines in various categories from the New York Times, those that actually have good news also have the words “but” or “however,” indicating we shouldn’t be all that happy about it.

This is a recipe for stress and depression. You can certainly lose, but what if you can never really “win”? Shake this nonsense off. Set your own metrics. It’s never about perfection, it’s really about success, and success doesn’t depend on setting world records, only about doing your best. If everyone just focused on doing the best they can do, this would be a far better world with no “but” or “however.”

And remember, trying to be “number one” all the time is an exercise in futility: TIAABB. There is always a bigger boat.