An ordinary life – embracing mediocrity
The phrase “good enough” has been circulating in my brain for the past few months. It came up recently in several team discussions. It’s also served me well in past projects at school and work. I’ve often had a hard time explaining that I don’t see it as a cop out or slack work ethic, but an efficient use of my finite time and resources. I do value doing things well. But it makes sense to me to only give as much time to something as is reasonable, and not to let any one task take over my life.
The idea came up again recently as I listened to an excellent segment of the CBC program Ideas. The episode is all about living a “good enough” life, and embracing failure, mediocrity, and the everyday ordinary. Moments of excellence are fleeting and not equally accessible. Society is not egalitarian or built for the success of all. It's important for me to contribute to the world in a way that is kind, fair, and works towards survival and success for all, rather than excellence for the few. Focusing on time with others, people who really matter to me, is most important. And when I develop an appreciation of the ordinary and mundane I don’t need to wait for my next vacation or special project to experience "a little splash of magic" every day.
If you haven't heard it already, I highly recommend checking out this episode of Ideas:
- On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3299yCV
- Ideas website: https://bit.ly/3qEp8Qg
