Good Enough vs Perfection

[teadog1425]

I signed up a while ago on to Brian Kim's website (I think my brother-in-law recommended it), and in amongst the emails about "super subscription services!! 48 hrs left!!!" (which I ignore), he sends out an M.I.T. of the day (Motivational and Inspirational Thought), which comes to my inbox each day as a little email, and I read at my desk

Some are a bit meh, but the majority are actually pretty useful pointers for being effective or making changes or getting stuff done, and occasionally there's one that really hits the nail on the head at the right time - as with yesterday's, which is below:

We all know that it's impossible to be perfect.

 

That being said, it introduces the idea that good enough is good enough. 

Move on.  Don't try to be perfect.
 

But then that seems to run counter to the "go above and beyond", "go the extra

mile" type idea.

 

How do you reconcile the two?

 

When do you stop going the extra mile because we know we can't be perfect?

 

Here's how you do it and like most things in life, it comes down to order.

 

When you're first starting out in your endeavour - good enough is good enough.

 

As you advance, THEN it's time to refine, to go the extra mile, to go above and

beyond.  

 

If you refine in the beginning, it's so hard to gain traction.  You never set the

foundation.

 

Refine afterwards.  There will be plenty to refine.  

 

Because you started with good enough.

 

And moved on from there in the beginning.

And I'm like "Ahhhhhhhh - that's how you work out when to do which one!"  This is a common bog that I catch myself in, and his distinction above makes really good sense.  I'm thinking of it as applying to both riding and writing, but it has usefulness beyond that too...  Interesting!  :)