Le meglio è l'inimico del bene (Italian proverb). Perfect is the enemy of the good.

I first heard this phrase only last week during an online briefing by the Sanctuary Foundation. Krish Kandiah and others set out the implications for opening our homes to Ukrainian (other other) refugees. "Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good," he advised; in complexity don't aim for 'best' because 'best' doesn't exist. In chaos, good enough is good enough.

Perfection is a powerful motivation but an elusive aspiration. It drives us forward on a journey of better towards a destination of best. But do we ever arrive? and if we do, at what cost?

The relationship between effort and perfection is one of diminishing returns. The closer we come to 'perfect', the more effort it takes:

All things have a threshold of quality. I want my plane to fly safely and my pen to write reliably. Both have criteria for 'good enough'.

If perfection remains distant in these complicated days, take comfort in good enough and control over what that means:

Maybe, for now, perfect is the cause of the good.