Good Enough

I remind myself frequently that most things we use are simply good enough.

Not perfect. Good enough.

That goes for our technological devices – good enough to do what we need them to do. (Unless, maybe, you’re using a school-issued device…)

It goes for our musical notation system, which has layered new “good enough” ideas each time something new was needed, since the time of Guido d’Arezzo. It’s not a perfect system, but it’s good enough to do the job.

It goes for most musical performances I’ve attended or been a part of. Never perfect, but good enough. (Our definitions of good enough may change. A high school choir’s shouldn’t be the same definition as Voces8’s!)

In every place I look, I see a system that is good enough, but can be improved. And when it’s no longer good enough is when it gets a hard look and receives some improvement.

I remind myself of this fact frequently, because it lowers my barrier to entry in creative works. I am not aiming for perfection. I am aiming for good enough.

Good enough can be pretty darn good. It’s the desire for perfection that gets in the way of creation.