Good is the Enemy of Great

Spokez70

"Good is the Enemy of Great" -Jim Collins

I've been thinking about that quote a lot for the last few weeks- it's the first sentence in a business book I read a while back which kind of stuck with me.

A year ago I had a serious conversation with myself about being way out of shape, and I knew that if I didn’t do something then and there I was very close to developing some serious health issues. About that same time a friend of mine in similar shape dropped dead of a heart attack at age 50 (only 8 years older than me) and I kept thinking if I went at 50 my youngest daughter would only be 16 and that was completely unacceptable. Since then I have lost 70+ pounds- got off blood pressure medicine- got off cholesterol medicine- rediscovered an enjoyment of exercise- learned a lot about nutrition- and found a balance in my life that I feel like I can sustain long term. That’s good- right?

The point of the quote and of the book is that once a goal is reached- or some level of "success" is attained- then it becomes very easy to be complacent. With the holidays I saw all kinds of friends and family members who I haven’t seen in a year or two and I got lots of questions and comments about my weight loss- several people acted surprised when I told them I still had a ways to go. It seems like it would be easy to listen to that kind of stuff and say “Hey I made it!” and just try to go on some kind of ‘maintenance’ plan to not get fat again. That would also be good- right? Maybe not so much.

With the New Year coming it seems like the normal time to make some new goals. This is the first time in as long as I can remember that my fairly obvious resolution wasn’t just a loosely defined idea to “Lose Weight” without knowing exactly how to go about it or how long it would last. And right now making a resolution to lose the last 10 pounds and then just trying to stay the same seems like a cop out. I'm posting this in "Success Stories" because I want to know what people did after they reached their initial goals.

Motivation is easy when the alternative is scary or miserable- what comes after success?

RllyGudTweetr

Success isn't a destination. It's a methodology, a process. The only way for something to come after it is for success to cease to be the operative descriptor of your process.

EvgeniZyntx

Complacency is an issue - and if I'm here today it is that I was complacent a few years ago. But, I have to say, I like the original quote by Voltaire better.

Dans ses écrits, un sage Italien
Dit que le mieux est l’ennemi du bien ;
Non qu’on ne puisse augmenter en prudence,
En bonté d’âme, en talents, en science ;
Cherchons le mieux sur ces chapitres-là ;
Partout ailleurs évitons la chimère.
Dans son état, heureux qui peut se plaire,

In his writing a wise Italian,
Says that "perfection" is the enemy of good....

You see it here every day, those that have a good or great situation and yet remain unhappy looking for perfection, or a perceived perfection that will not exist.

I'll try to translate the last few lines.

Let us seek perfection in those terms (with a good soul, in talents and science)
Everywhere else avoid this fantasy [of perfection]
In his own state, happy is the one that can please himself...

So find balance between good enough and greatness and fight off complacency but just as much the search for perfection.

heybales

Great thoughts here from both of you.

I think a sense of perspective too helps.

Like, if you recognize how difficult maintenance can be, either because of your own problems with it in the past, or seeing the example of others, you might appreciate that maintaining could be viewed as great rather than just good enough, if accomplished successfully.

That plays into the perfection idea, setting goals correctly and realistically. And what happens if not totally met.

chivalryder

One of my favourite quotes of all time is:

"Happiness is given way too much importance these days. Why not go for greatness? Chimps are happy. I will not settle for that."