GET TO "GOOD ENOUGH" FIRST
IN ALL IMPORTANT THINGS
There are two points to be made here:
1. It is easy and very doable to get to "good enough" in each area and subarea.
2. The first thing a person should do is to get to "good enough" in each major area and significant subarea.
3. If a person is not at "good enough" in each major subarea of a major areas, then they are not "good enough" in that major area, no matter how good they are in the other subareas!
WHAT IS "GOOD ENOUGH"?
"Good enough" in this article means skilled enough to produce "good enough" results. Better results may be desired in any area, but the highest payoff lies in assuring that "good enough" is achieved in each critical area of life.
We are attempting to get "good enough" to get "good enough" results.
And, generally, "good enough" results means where I am getting 80% of the results that are possible. It is ok to be short 20% - and that is a good "allowance" for shortcomings that are inevitable because of the limitations inherent in a human being....
We need to first assure that our skills are good enough to survive, to eat, to have adequate shleter.
Note that we can be good enough and content AND still want more...and to not stress out trying to (having to) get more. Once we are good enough (skillwise) to assure that the conditions of life and of self are "good enough", then we can simply choose to develop whatever skills we need to gain more, relatively easily!
IF YOU DON'T HAVE ALL THE PIECES FUNCTIONING WELL...
Just as in a car, each of the machinery parts must be functioning well enough or the car will not function well. Great tires, but not enough oil will not work.
Good enough psychological health will not happen if one does not know well enough how to reduce anxiety down to a minimal level.
Good enough physical functioning will not happen if all the parts of physical health are not functioning well enough. Eventually something will be so strained or affected by another part that does not work that the system overall will not function well-enough.
AN ILLUSTRATION OF "GOOD ENOUGH" IN HEALTH
Copy and/or print this out and rate where you are in each: (The "%" indicates the level you are operating at as compared with very high functioning in the area. 80% or above is normally a good measure of "sufficiency". The rating is not about "normal", as the normal person in the developed countries rates rather poorly overall. To better be able to rate these, see My Physical Well-Being Checklist - This Or Something Better...No "Settling" Into Entropy - see also the linked checklist in the sidebar.)
20% 40% 60% 80% 90%
Overall health and physical well-being
Sleep/rest/naps (if below 7, or have low energy
then you are in the 40-60% range or lower)
Energy
Nutrition
Body toning and stamina
Body strength
Blood pressure
Blood cholesterol balance
Blood sugar levels
Relaxedness (not tense, pressured, anxious,
holding...)
Exercise and/or move at least 30 minutes
per day to be above 80%)
Notice that some people will consider it "ok" to be at an insufficiency level in one area if they are great in another. But that is nonsensical, as each of the pieces must be "good enough" for the overall to be good enough.
The point of this chart is to suggest that the biggest payoff will come from handling each area, and subarea, of importance such that they are raised to the "sufficient" level (about 80% usually). Please DO NOT delude yourself into believing that it is "good enough" to allow some areas to be below that level because of your being ok in other areas - it would be nonsensical to do anything other than immediately devising a plan to handle each of these until they arrive at the "good enough" level in each. Yes, it may take some time and need to be scheduled accordingly, but you MUST NOT allow yourself to stay in "the drift" of living in "the path of least resistance" if you are allowing harm against yourself.
BE SURE TO RATIONALLY REVIEW THE FUNCTIONING LEVELS
If one goes tooting along in ignorance or in a "later I'll fix that, if I feel like it", one will not be able to achieve what one wants overall in life. The best way to take a "look" at how things are functioning is to use a checklist (or a standards list) that will cause one to confront, in black and white, what the facts are and whether something is functioning well-enough or needs to be improved.
Compare and rate each item that is important to running your life.
Decide to repair or raise each subitem that is not functioning "well-enough." Then set a plan and timeline to do the fixing. Otherwise, you are not going to have a chance of creating a great life!
