As growth-driven dads, we tend to be extremely hard on ourselves.
Despite being fully committed towards growing, evolving, and becoming our best selves, when things aren’t 100 percent perfect, we feel so much guilt for not being perfect. This impacts our brain and emotions immediately — and calls into question our motivations from the start.
In short, we let perfect become the enemy of good.
I came across this concept in a blog post by Gretchen Rubin, the author of many books, including The Happiness Project. In the blog post, she wrote:
Voltaire is the great thinker responsible for the observation, “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”
I’ve found this precept to be extremely useful with my happiness project. Instead of pushing myself to an impossible “perfect,” and therefore getting nowhere, I accept “good.”
This hits me so hard. For so long, I’ve let the perfect idea, the perfect weight, the perfect situation, or the perfect scenario get in the way of so much good progress towards becoming the me I want to be.
Especially as a father, I fear the desire for perfection can clutter such great growth, connection, and success in what I’d otherwise see as less than.
So, in this crazy time in which we find ourselves being fathers, partners, and men, let’s all commit to being ok with being ok. Sure, it’s important to chase your goals and grow and evolve, but let’s all call a win a win. Forget perfect and accept OK.
I’m working on this mindset change and I’m excited to see the results. I hope to hear about your success with it, too.
