A Note On: Good vs Great

As the new year approaches, it’s a natural time to take inventory on our lives to assess what we want to keep and what needs to go with the closing of the chapter that is 2021. It’s easy to spot those areas that are obviously bad , a job you hate that barely pays your bills, a crappy diet and non-existent exercise routine, a loveless relationship, but what’s a little more insidious and can easily slip through the cracks are the things that are just ok.

Our society teaches us to be grateful for what we have and to appreciate that things could be worse. I hear so many people, myself included, rationalize staying in subpar situations with excuses like “it is what it is”, “what if I can’t do any better?”, “at least I don’t have to do xyz” etc., in order to settle for something that is half-right, or maybe even mostly good, rather than allowing themselves to want for what is great.

All of these somewhat acceptable, close enough, decent choices hold us back from manifesting what we truly desire just as much as hanging onto those things that are clearly wrong. All of those small little grievances, when left unaddressed, can grow and compound and cause significant burn out, stress, and disillusionment. By allowing what is ok, we are blocking our fullest potential from coming through. We’re settling for a life that is good without realizing we could be thriving in one that is great.

This doesn’t mean go quit your job or break up with your partner because the situation isn’t 100% right. Having the realization that you are in total deservingness to ask for more of a situation that may not be all that bad, and that this doesn’t make you ungrateful or selfish, is the first step in transforming your current situation from good to great. If it’s still not quite working out after you’ve made those changes, or if the situation refuses to change, then it might be time to look at letting it go completely.

So, as you’re looking ahead into 2022 and mapping out the life of your dreams, allow yourself to really go there. From settling for a so-so haircut time and time again because it’s cheap and you don’t want to offend your hairstylist to staying in the job that pays a high salary with benefits but doesn’t offer you any time off, if something isn’t an ABSOLUTE YES, liberate yourself by tossing it into the pile of ABSOLUTE NO.