Image by: Phil Roeder
I was reminded of a great quote while raking and bagging fallen leaves in our yard recently.
“Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. “ –Voltaire
I meditated on these words as I watched half of my collected leaves fall back onto the ground while trying to get them into paper bags for curbside pick up. I told myself –“There are less leaves on the ground than there were before and that’s good enough. If I spend all day trying to get every leaf out of this yard I will spend less time with my husband and my son and I really like those guys.”
Perfection is also an idea/ideal I struggle with as a parent. Of course we all want our kids to have a happy life and feel safe and secure and well adjusted. I am imperfect as a person and therefore I am imperfect as a parent. Coming to this realization has been game changing for me and I am a happier and healthier parent knowing that perfection is an unreasonable goal. I have to protect the good from her enemies.
This concept is also useful in our current Austin Real Estate market. The perfect house more than likely doesn’t exist, but that’s ok! If a house checks a majority of the boxes for what you want that is pretty darn GOOD. The current Austin housing market is so competitive and moves so quickly that waiting for perfection could put you behind the curve. Compromise is necessary for success in this market and rigidity can work against both buyers and sellers.
I’m not sure how a great mind like Voltaire’s would feel about his words being used to contemplate yard maintenance, parenting and real estate transactions, but I sure am glad he put pen to paper.
If you or anyone you know would like to talk about how to navigate the real estate market in Austin Texas please get in touch with us. We always strive for the GOOD and often achieve the GREAT!