“It Could Be Better”

“The best is the enemy of the good.” -Voltaire

“Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.” -Confucius

“Striving to better, oft we mar what’s well.” -Shakespeare

“It could be better” is a good mantra to adopt about your work.

No matter how much effort you give, how much time you spend, how much you strive for excellence, your work could always be better. This isn’t false humility. It’s just true.

Take for example this blog…(And I realize I’m bounded by time here. As I put it out every weekday.)

No matter how good I feel about a certain post. No matter how much I’ve worked and re-worked the language until it’s “just right” to release, EVERY time I go back and read it with fresh eyes, I always feel some version of “It could be better.”

But–and here’s the catch–I’m still glad I put it out there.

“It could be better” not only keeps you humble about your own accomplishments, it also helps you avoid the worst aspect of perfectionism. Which is fear. Which then leads to never shipping your work.