One idea that has been reiterated in my life is that good is the enemy of great. While I had heard this years before and understood it, it really became clear to me reading Jim Collins book, Good to Great. Good is the enemy of great. Every time we settle for being good or doing good, we eradicate the desire to strive for greatness. Good leads to mediocrity. Mediocrity is settling for good and giving up on being better. God did not create us to settle for good, but to strive for greatness. The only person we please when we settle for good is Satan, our adversary. Because he knows as long as we settle for good we will never strive for the greatness God created us for and that which He desires for each one.
I do not know of anyone who has ever set out to become mediocre and went beyond to reach success or greatness. Mediocrity sets in when life’s whirlwind of everyday pressures begin to weigh on us and we decide to take the easy route. Moving on, striving for the best, can bring unwanted stress, hardships, difficulty, and will cause us to get out of our comfort zone. This last one alone ‘our comfort zone’ is perhaps the most powerful force pulling against you and me in striving for the best – great instead of good. For some reason people today often choose to remain in the muck and mire of mediocrity rather than pull themselves out for something better.
When the question comes up, “How are you doing?” in conversations with others how often do we hear (or perhaps we say) “I’m okay.” “I’m doing good.” Or when asked how our church is doing, the reply is, “We’re hanging in there.” “We’re doing about the same as last year – the last ten years.” These are all replies of surrender. We have surrendered to mediocrity. We are settling for good. We have abandoned our will to strive for the greatness for which we were created.
Satisfaction in life always comes from striving for something better. Be it at home, in my personal life, in ministry, or in the business world. Life is short. Will you commit right now to no longer settle for good. Instead always, each day in every circumstance, strive for the greatness for which you were created. And help others to do the same. The rewards are out of this world.
What can you do to begin this journey?
- Determine that you want to commit to choosing greatness or settling for good in every aspect of life.
- Memorize the statement, “Good is the enemy of Great.”
- Repeat that statement to yourself each time you have the opportunity to make a decision. Does this decision help me to strive for the greatest outcome or am I settling for good.
These three simple steps can lead you from a life of mediocrity to a life of greatness for which you were created. They are simple, but they may not always be easy. If so you would have settled on it long ago. This is why the commitment must come first. From this day forward do not settle. Strive!
For more on this topic contact George Yates and visit soncare.net