and it works for me.
"Good."
How many times have you used the adjective to describe something in your life? Probably, a zillion times. Then, think of everything you'd put in the category of Good: handwriting, book cover, the weather.
When you make the above a list, perhaps you'll understand why I boo a little bit when I hear someone describe my/my work as "good".
Good is neutral. Good is forgettable. Good is an ambiguous condition. Good doesn't change lives, let alone save them. Wouldn't anyone prefer eloquent, marvelous, and of course exquisite?
I'm disappointed. After putting blood, sweat and tears to all my work, couldn't I be more than "good"?
I consider goodness as tolerable and acceptable. While in different parts of my life, it can even be a virtue: how I'm doing, my room, my relationship with myself. I even rate my cooking as good. I consider my look to be good.
But when it comes to my work performance, which is obviously, being 'good' is mediocre. I react as though I've not been giving enough. By stating the whole circumstances, my feelings were hurt.
"I want to be excellent," I said to myself because I don't think I've never been taken seriously compared to others, whose experience is also hell of a ride for them but in a completely different setup.
"What if people look at my work and all they say is 'it's good'?" I wondered in desperation, worrying about a hypothetical stagnancy for a moment.
After digging around what's left in my brain, I cam to the conclusion that I could work really hear to "be taken seriously", but that would mean altering my habit, which in this care, has actually been proven to be just as effective to at least help me survive.
I'd spend more time revising for the product, learn to delve into the service...would it even work? It sounds like a painful process already, and one that is not guaranteed to even result in desired effect (all work and no life? I dunno).
I decided on something wild: instead of trying to make my work more serious or whatever, I'll stick to what's balance and lean in to how I can do everything at once in moderation. Why don't I stop chasing that 'excellence' and just accept the fact that 'good' is already a satisfying description. Good is enough.
Here's the deal: My work gets called "good" because I AM GOOD. Or, at the very least, it registers to other people as "cute", which is okay. The way people perceive ourselves is outside of our control. Alas, you can't decide whether what your work will devastate them or not.
Being just good is good! This idea made me laugh, but it made sense right away. It is liberating. I could embody and embrace everything I've been doing well, or decide to become a completely different person just to 'be taken seriously' at work.
I don't even know what that would entail in the long run. As long as it doesn't involve being too hard on myself, I'm pretty sure I could still make it work.