This is a funny trait that I think we all have, to some degree or another. The attitude that things are ‘good enough.’
That, while our health might not be perfect, it’s liveable and we aren’t apt to complain or do anything about it. Yes, our shoulders and back hurts, our sleep is poor and we get headaches from time to time, but it’s too much hassle to do anything about it and as long as we can continue to show up for work, we’ll just deal with it.
I see this all the time in my practice – patients come in with a variety of ailments, get to a place of, say 70% improvement, and then discontinue their treatments, because they are now able to get back to work, or sleep four hours without pain, or stand at the kitchen sink long enough to do the dishes. It’s good enough.
It’s important to stop for a moment and ask yourself why ‘good enough’ is good enough. Don’t you deserve to be pain free, to be able to throw a ball around with your kid, to dig in your garden, to be able to sit comfortably and sleep peacefully?
Yes you do.
The question you need to be asking yourself is, “how much better can I be?” After every treatment I ask my patients, “how are you feeling?” as a way to get them to check in with themselves. I am now beginning to get them to think about this next question. How much better can they feel, how much more can we improve their quality of life? It should be an ongoing dialogue, one that continues through one’s life, and NEVER stopping at “good enough.”
Because “good enough” isn’t good enough. You deserve better.
