Sleeping With the Enemy

Riding on the coattails of a movie from the 80’s, Sleeping with the Enemy, I thought I would address a prevalent message I’ve been hearing in my conversations with clients, associates, and friends. It seems that many are indeed sleeping with the enemy. Who is the enemy?

“The enemy of Best is Good.”

This past week I watched a friend accept a job that paid her $10 less per hour than she was previously making simply because she convinced herself that she didn’t merit any better. Recently, I also witnessed a client of mine “settle” in taking on a client that clearly did not fit his criteria. He knew early on in the relationship that this client was a “problem child” and indeed he was. To make a long story short, the client was nothing that he portrayed himself to be, he had a reputation of being a serious challenge, and my client is now looking at having to proceed with legal means in order to get paid monies due him.

Here’s one more example that I feel is fitting. I was recently shopping in a “warehouse” kind of store. I was passing one of those irresistible “sample tables” in which two older women were making scrumptious looking mini sandwiches as well as a fancy deli-style cracker. It appeared much more significant that most “sample” booths I had seen previously. So I cheerfully commented to the women, “Wow. It looks like you’re having a party here ladies.” One of the women promptly replied in a lack luster tone, “It’s anything but a party.” As I walked away I heard one woman say, in a voice similar to my 4-year-old nephew when he needs a nap, “When I run out of these crackers, can we just do the sandwiches?” I immediately wondered what it was that these women conveyed in their job interviews to make the hiring manager feel that they were the best for the positions they currently filled?

Perhaps all of these decisions which were made at some point seemed “good” at the time, however, I suspect that if one thought that they personally or their own business merited the Best scenario, client, job, employee, etc—then the detracting decision would not have been made.

It’s a simple Law of Physics. No two objects can occupy the same space at the same time. If you’ve only made room for good, then there is no room for best. And thus you may find your life so filled with mediocrity that you’ve left no room for anything better.

The Law of Gravity tends to pull things downward. It’s a much shorter distance between Good and Awful than it is between Best and such lower levels of life. I’d much rather start at Best and then, when the inevitable gravitational pull affects my life, I’m more likely to arrive at the level of Challenging rather than feeling overwhelmed.

When compared side by side, Good appears drastically different and inferior to Best. I perceive that many individuals simply fail to make such a comparison either as a result of a lack of awareness of the consequences, or due to a belief that their world deserves the influence of Best. I assure you that we all merit and were intended for the Best. And as we continue to require such circumstances in our lives, the Best keeps getting better.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.