Good is the enemy of great!
While hosting a meeting at our church my Bishop was giving direction on where he wants our ministry to go, when he made this statement, this was the first time I ever heard it and it really got me thinking.
Here are the definitions of both words according to the Google (of course)
good ɡo͝od/ adjective – to be desired or approved of.
great ɡrāt/ adjective – of an extent, amount, or intensity considerably above the normal or average.
While growing up if I brought home a grade of 75% or 85% my mom would always ask me about the other 5 points. “Deveter this is good but, what could you have done better to get an 80% or 90%?” she would say. I always wondered why good wasn’t ‘good’ enough. Why did I have to reach greatness. Why couldn’t my best be accepted as good?
Then I became a parent.
Good is wonderful, it can take you where you need to go but maybe not as far as you could go. My oldest son often does just enough to get by. He studies just enough to get an understanding of the problem but he won’t go any further to be great. My daughter loves to sing but it’s a fight to get her to LEARN how to sing and play the keyboard which will make her great. As a parent we want our children to do the best in all their endeavors and our desires should be for them to be GREAT.
So how is good the enemy of great? I used the definition of each word (good, great & enemy) to give us a brand new statement.
To be desired or approved of is a thing that harms or weakens the extent, amount, or intensity considerably to be above the normal or average.
I don’t know about you but that’s pretty powerful. I encourage you to work toward greatness. It doesn’t have to impact the world at large, but allow your greatness to impact those around you. Being great doesn’t mean being MLK or Obama it’s means being the best you possible. Love, be patient, learn more, explore, don’t take any experience for granted and I guarantee you that greatness is in your future.
Until next time…
MrsDeveter 