Good, Great & Perfect
“Good is the Enemy of Great.”
Instagram LOVES to show me this quote. It seems I scroll past at least one musician or professional athlete saying this every day.
“If you settle for “good enough,” you will never truly achieve greatness like me.
…Now be sure to buy my sports drink at the link below.”
In theory, I do “vibe” with this. I would’ve finished practicing years ago if I was okay with being good enough. Lots of trumpet players can handle “Boogie Shoes” and read out of a hymnal.
Instead, I am constantly tweaking aspects of my playing in search of more ease, more clarity, more beauty, a higher note, better intonation… and to a lot of people, that process sounds MISERABLE.
Sometimes, it can be! I often find myself upset when I am in refinement mode. Even though I am getting better, I’m still not satisfied with the result. And then the doubts start to creep in…
“It’s still not perfect… I’m just never going to be good enough…”
_____________________________________________
Great’s true nemesis: Perfect.
Good may lure you into resting on your loins and enjoying your adequacy. Good will consume you in comfort. Good is that friend from middle school who is still smoking weed in his doting mother’s basement. “What more could I need? My mom cooks meals for me, cleans my bedroom, and I’ve got her credit card saved on my XBOX Live account.”
Perfect, however, is elusive and cunning. . Trying to catch Perfect is like trying to beat the fastest kid in your grade in a race. Is it possible? Sure, I guess. You have run before, and you’ve been training for months. But as soon as you have caught up to Perfect, he finds some near gear to shift into, or hurdles some obstacle that you didn’t even know was coming. Now you have a scraped shin and a bruised ego, and Perfect just stole your girlfriend. You’re not quite sure which stings most.
…but then you’re helped up by your friend Great.
Great helps you realize that as you’ve been training to match Perfect in that race, you became stronger. You’re much faster now than you were when you started. You cut your hair to shed a few ounces of weight, and the fresh hairdo gives you some more confidence. You realize that you enjoy the work and the stepping stones of progress. Great decides that he’ll continue to run with you, and he’s a truly excellent hang.
_____________________________________________
This is why I continue to practice. I find joy in the process. I set goals, track my progress, and celebrate results and wins — big and small. At the end of the day, if I’m a little bit better at one little thing than I was yesterday, I win the day. And that is a great feeling.
Never settle for Good, strive for Perfect, and enjoy the work… This is truly Great.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
