Welcome to Day 14 of 31 Ways to Embrace Lopsided Living!

Remember yesterday when I said to choose best over good. So true, right?

But let’s face it, we can’t be the best at everything we do.

Nor can we give our best to every situation or activity we are involved in. It isn’t possible.

Not only that, some things really don’t need our best — they just need to be done.

My problem is I lean toward the perfectionist, Type A, and possibly a little compulsive type. And I’m guessing some of you do too.  We don’t have a low gear and we feel like if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing perfectly.

Can you relate to that?

For me, it can look like, “I don’t have time to really scrub the kitchen so I’ll wait until I have time to get it deep cleaned.” But really, what all that needs to be done is the the dishes.

Lopsided Living understands sometimes good enough really is enough.

Paul knew this very real struggle with wanting to do it all and do it all perfectly.  And just like Paul, we will have to learn a hard lesson about ourselves:

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. — 2 Corinthians 12:9

We can’t do it all … and we definitely can’t do it all perfectly all the time. It’s impossible.

But that is good news! Because in all of the stuff we struggle with and all the times we feel inadequate and all the moments when we know we are not enough, He is there waiting for us to lean into Him and allow Him to work through and in us.

So, how do we know when good enough is enough?

Last year, I shared three questions I’ve found useful in helping me decide when good enough is enough.

What is the consequence if I choose good enough? For example, when I clean my kitchen tonight, if I just do the bare minimum what impact will that have? Absolutely none. That means if I get the dishes in the dishwasher and wipe down the counters, I can be satisfied and call it good enough.

What is the difference between good enough and best? Here’s what I’m learning, sometimes {most of the time?} the difference isn’t significant to warrant the effort and stress. Good enough is brownies from a box … and honestly, I’m okay with that. {But I do always make chocolate chip cookies from scratch.}

What is in the best interest of the people I love the most? After several conversations with my husband over the years, I’ve found that many of those things I feel like I need to give my best to for the sake of our marriage are not the things that matter most to him. The same is true with my daughter. The people I love the most are better served by my presence WITH them than by the things I try to do FOR them.

How can you put this into practice today? 

IDENTIFY AT LEAST ONE TASK WHERE GOOD ENOUGH IS ENOUGH … AND THEN GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO BE SATISFIED WITH GOOD ENOUGH

Learning to embrace good enough is hard. No joke. But I’m learning that there are many times when good enough is the “best” that enables me to live abundantly.

Good news, y'all! Sometimes good enough really is enough! #LopsidedLiving Share on X

What is an area of your life where good enough is enough?

Living lopsided,

Teri Lynne

Yesterday’s post: Choose best over good.

Coming tomorrow: Be inspired!

Find every post in this series indexed here.