An opening exchange that once might have earned a do-over stays in. Noise from the other room is ignored, in spite of that one review that complained about the lawnmower in the background. None of it keeps the podcast from doing what it needs to do—which feels like a pretty good illustration of eight years spent practicing good enough.

But practice doesn’t always feel free at first. Shannon can leave an imperfectly loaded dishwasher alone now, most of the time, but she may have to close the door and take a deep breath. Janine can live with haphazard loading, though perhaps not Barry rearranging it. Along the way there’s a wooden butter knife refined until it broke, one shiny pan in an otherwise dirty kitchen, and a very useful question: What actually has to be true for this to be good enough?

What We Talk About

  • 01:31 — Letting an imperfect opening stay in—and living the theme of the podcast
  • 03:39 — Why a little background noise and human imperfection can make a podcast feel more real
  • 05:42 — What happens when you keep refining something past good enough, including Shannon’s broken wooden butter knife
  • 08:13 — The time cost of perfectionism: literary-genius emails, spotless grout, and one very shiny pan in an otherwise dirty kitchen
  • 09:14 — Opening the dishwasher can of worms: Janine and Shannon’s very different relationships with “correct” loading
  • 11:41 — Shannon’s current good-enough practice: leaving the dishwasher alone when everything fits and will get clean
  • 15:51 — Getting clear about what actually matters, from clean dishes and shared work to Shannon’s old standard of avoiding botulism
  • 18:07 — How good enough has become more relaxing over time—and why having a minimum acceptable standard can make it easier to know when enough really is enough


Key Takeaways

  • Good enough becomes much easier to recognize when you know what you actually want from a situation.
  • Practicing good enough doesn’t necessarily feel freeing right away. Sometimes it feels surprisingly uncomfortable before it starts to feel easier.
  • Pursuing perfection can make the result worse: a butter knife breaks, the whole kitchen stays dirty while one pan gleams, or time gets spent improving something that was already doing its job.
  • A minimum standard can provide a useful benchmark when perfectionism makes things feel black-and-white or makes the “right” way seem like the only way.
  • Letting some imperfection show—whether in a podcast, a creative project, or everyday life—can feel more human than polishing every rough edge away.


The Bottom Line

Shannon is still uncomfortable looking at bowls behind the big plates in the dishwasher, but she doesn’t rearrange them anymore. That seems to be where good enough lives in this conversation: not in suddenly ceasing to care, but in noticing what actually matters, letting the rest be imperfect, and practicing until that choice requires a little less effort (and a lot less stress). The dishes get clean. The podcast gets recorded. Nobody got botulism. And life feels more relaxing.

Want More Like This?

Episode 48: Flexibility — A look at what happens when high standards become rigid, and how practicing flexibility—even when it feels uncomfortable—can make life easier without requiring you to abandon those standards altogether.

Episode 105: Enjoying Imperfection — Shannon and Janine explore the possibility of not merely tolerating imperfection but actually enjoying what it adds, from hand lettering and gardens to imperfect solutions around the house.

Episode 156: Feeling Good About Good Enough — A conversation about getting more comfortable with stopping at good enough, practicing that skill in everyday life, and discovering how much bandwidth can be saved when perfection isn’t the goal.

Connect With Us

We’d love to hear from you. Have you embraced good enough, or are you still struggling with perfectionism?

  • Leave us a voicemail: 413-424-GTGE (4843)
  • Comment on social media: @gettingtogoodenough on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube
  • Email: gettingtogoodenough@gmail.com




Rss Apple Podcaster
Podden och tillhörande omslagsbild på den här sidan tillhör Getting to Good Enough. Innehållet i podden är skapat av Getting to Good Enough och inte av, eller tillsammans med, Poddtoppen.