Have you ever heard of a good enough life? I hadn’t until a couple of months ago. It was weird, I heard it twice in a period of two weeks, by two different sources, in reference to marriage and parenting.
When I first heard the term, “good enough marriage” it seemed like a negative thing. I listened as the man explained how a good enough marriage was a relationship based on the mutual needs of each partner; engaging in the meeting of those needs and connecting along the way.
What made the good enough life hit home with me was when I listened to the speaker talking about parenting and how you didn’t need to be this over the top, awesome and wonderful parent. You just needed to be the parent each individual child needed you to be. No more, no less.
Why do we get caught up in the fallacy that life has to be perfect? Relationships, marriages, parenting, work, all have this standard that is oftentimes beyond our reach, and when we “fail” to meet those perimeters set by, well, who knows?, then we feel shameful, like we somehow don’t measure up.
What a ridiculous idea! Walking around feeling like a failure in any area of your life is no way to live. That’s where a good enough life enters in. It’s not settling for something less than you deserve or desire. It’s deciding what you want in life, in your relationships with your spouse, children and other family, friends and partners in your sphere of being. It’s taking inventory of what you want and need, and determining how you can achieve those things.
A good enough life isn’t putting up with disrespect. It’s not even loosening the boundaries you have in place. It’s a beautiful way to take care of yourself and your relationships.
I know it appears like everyone else has a better life than we do. Facades are safely in place and protected with the enhancement of social media. I’m not knocking social media. I’m a huge fan. It serves an important purpose in the business world, but it also has a way of making us feel more dissatisfied with our own lives and relationships because everyone else has lives that look way more glamorous and put together than our own.
Take a look at the good enough life and see if it isn’t a more peaceful way to live.
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