Good Enough -- Better Than Best?

Yesterday's posting was all about the opportunity costs of opportunity costs -- what we lose when we put too much mental energy into figuring out all the pros and cons of minor decisions. Now today we'll touch upon the concept of "good enough".

We are all lured by the idea of "best" and everything emotionally associated with it. When you are the "best", or own the "best", what exactly does that mean to you? Why is it so important?

Come with me on a semantic journey here: the word best can be used as both a noun (as in "do your best") and as a superlative ("that is the best car"). The superlative form connotates hierarchy -- if you are the best xyz or own the best xyz then unquestioningly you are or have the highest quality or most desirable xyz of all.

And this means...? Status. Freedom from worry and doubt. "Best" means precisely that there's nothing better...which means you've made a great choice. Ahh...the nirvana of "best"!

We as humans will put a lot of energy into "best" because of how it makes us feel. For some it is more important than others, but we are all affected by this drive. The problem comes when we spend so much energy finding the "best" of something when the truth is, it may not exist. Because, it so happens, "best" is also extremely subjective.

Enter "good enough". Sometimes it's far wiser to go with a suitable choice, rather than stressing out over finding the very best. "Good enough" doesn't have to be a throw-away term of defeat. You can have very definite criteria for what is good enough, and your standards can be quite high. Looking at your options in this manner will save you a ton of stress and worry.

Now, how does this apply to our closet? If you've been following my blog, you probably already have a good idea how to do this. But here are some more ideas to ponder:

1) When shopping for clothes, think in terms of great, amazing, fantastic, fabulous, beautiful....pick your adjective. These are concrete descriptors that can help you make distinctions between items. But avoid obsessing over finding the very best that exists. "Best" is illusory.

2) Begin to see when your desire to find the best option is filling an emotional need rather than a practical one. On the practical side, there are extremely good reasons to have high quality. But if you are trying to find the best because you fear those opportunity costs, fear not.

Tomorrow is Q&A day, when I take questions from the audience. So if you have a burning question that you would like answered, please ask! See you tomorrow...same blog time...same blog channel....

(If you would like more information on wardrobe planning, please visit my website!)