Monday, September 18, 2023

Making the case for medocrity

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There's More to Life Than a Constant Drive for Success
By Jamie Ducharme
Health Correspondent

Growing up, “good enough” was kind of a catchphrase in my house. If my mom forgot an ingredient in a recipe, or if a home-improvement project didn’t go exactly as planned, she’d shrug, laugh, and say, “Oh well. It’s good enough.”

I didn’t fully embrace the power of “good enough,” however, until a few years ago, when the stress of reaching a huge career milestone—writing a book—tanked my mental health. During the many sleepless nights leading up to the book’s publication, I began to recalibrate my relationship with ambition and achievement. I realized that I’d rather be good enough and happy than great and miserable.

That can feel a bit heretical in the U.S. While other cultures celebrate long lunches and six-week vacations, American capitalism is built on the idea of endless striving for material success, with little sympathy or patience for those who opt out. But, particularly since the pandemic, a growing number of people seem disillusioned with that lifestyle, if trends like "quiet quitting" and "lazy-girl jobs" are any indication. I think the quiet-quitters are on to something: lots of research suggests we'd all be happier and healthier if we could abandon limitless ambition in favor of accepting all the ways we're good enough.

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ONE LAST READ
U.S. organ donations are woefully inadequate

Last year, approximately 10,000 Americans who needed an organ transplant died before receiving one or were removed from the list because they were too sick. It doesn't have to be like this. As the Economist writes, the U.S. system could improve by maximizing the number of organs harvested and total transplants attempted.

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Today's newsletter was written by Jamie Ducharme and Oliver Staley and edited by Oliver.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 

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