January 18th, 2008

It’s Been Said

Good enough is never good enough.

-A.B. Guthrie

That’s supposed to be an inspirational phrase – do better if you can! – but I’ve always found it to be kind of depressing. I know I’m taking it wrong when I read it as “no matter how good you do something, it could always be done better,” but that’s how it always strikes me. It comes from the same place that knowing there is always someone better at doing the thing you do best. In a world of 6 billion people, that seems like the only logical solution, so I like to think of myself as a “realist.” To most folks, realism sounds like pessimism, and is often even confused with fatalism, and there isn’t much you can do to change their mind about how you come across to them.

I think maybe it breaks down something like this:

  • Optimism: “I could get really awesome at this!”
  • Pessimism: “I’ll never be able to do any better.”
  • Realism: “I’ll never be the best at this in the world, but with work I could at least be better than I am right now.”

I’m shooting for realist, but maybe there’s some truth to other’s assessments about where I fall. Guthrie was specifically talking about writing, and it’s often been said that good editing makes great writing, so the idea is that you keep working on it and reworking it until you get it right.

I think maybe I need a good editor.

August 21st, 2007

It’s Been Said

God writes a lot of comedy – the trouble is He’s stuck with so many bad actors who don’t know how to play funny.

– Garrison Keillor

July 11th, 2007

It’s Been Said

You can’t unscramble an egg.

-Bev Moore

If you get fried eggs of a certain sort (like, over-easy, say), you can kind of scramble them on your plate. But if you get scrambled eggs, that’s pretty much what you’re getting.

We can’t undo things that we’ve done, we can only go on from where we are.

I’m sure others have said this line before Bev did, but she’s the one I’ve heard it from most frequently most recently.