A few weeks back, I had the pleasure of joining my friends Tom and Jeff on the Basic AF Show. We did something exciting and challenging: we recorded an episode sharing our thoughts on the Keynote Address from Apple's annual Worldwide Developer Conference about six hours after it finished.
I've always had a great appreciation for the work that podcasters do, and this recording made me feel that even deeper. We didn't have much time to prepare; I ran home from work and school pickup to jump on the mic. The show went fine and we had fun, but after we wrapped, I began to think:
I should have been more prepared.
I was worried and a little embarrassed because one of my kids made his podcast debut from across the house, sharing some big feelings he was experiencing.
Why didn't I mute myself more?
Did my mic sound okay?
Did I provide enough value for the listeners?
Thankfully, these thoughts didn't last very long. I was able to talk myself off this mental ledge by reminding myself something important:
Success doesn't mean doing it perfectly; it means doing it well.
It means going in with a spirit of openness, a desire to succeed, and an earnest belief that your attempt will be the best you can muster. That authenticity may not always create award winning audio, paint the most incredible murals or write the book that impacts generations, but sometimes, more often than we realize, it has an impact.
As I was thinking through all of this, I returned to a favorite quote from Voltaire that I learned during the pandemic and a variation of which I shared on 24 Letters the day I launched:
"Don't let perfect be the enemy of the good."
Little did I know that I'd be leaning on this idea even harder in the coming weeks...
My family is supposed to be on vacation right now.
We had plans for our first international trip. My wife deserves the credit for planning this, and she put in a tremendous amount of work to ensure its success. It all seemed perfect.
Three days before we were supposed to catch our flight, one of our kids was sent home from school with a fever. As the trip grew closer, she kept getting sicker, and on the eve of our planned departure, she ended up at the emergency department.
Thankfully and most importantly, our daughter is home and resting now, and we are relieved that she doesn't need further care.
Still, we are also disappointed not to be able to follow through with our plans. We had a vision, and it was something we were prepared for and looking forward to. Instead, we're home taking a mini staycation. After the initial disappointment and surprise had been fully felt, we began adapting to the new plan. My wife and I have managed to accomplish a few things around the house that are important to us. We've enjoyed some fun outdoor activities with the kids, done some grilling, and are already planning what we'll do with the next few days while also looking ahead to our rescheduled time away.
Whether it’s based on unrealistic expectations or an unexpected change in plans, disappointment is part of life.
If you find yourself stuck on the perfect idea of something, grab your journal, take ten quiet minutes, and use this prompt to find your way through it:
Excluding the perfect for a moment, how can I embrace the good?
Doing this exercise can help you gain a deeper understanding of what makes something worthwhile and meaningful by exploring it more thoroughly.
It can also help you reconcile what your expectations may have been with what reality has decided is actually going to happen, and help frame the situation as being less catastrophic.
This process of self reflection isn't always easy, but as is often the case, doing a little bit of work with your journal can help you get ahead.
If you know someone who might enjoy learning how to write their own story down, forward this email to them today. They can sign up here and join The Journaling Challenge to help them get started today.
