Of course when I said "a pony is not a young horse", I was referring to Welsh Ponies and Shetland Ponies -- The ponies we so often encounter in classic children's books set in the British Isles. My ancestors who lived in Bradford England (about 35 miles northeast of Manchester) in the 1800s were no doubt very familiar with these animals.
I Was impressed with one I heard the other day in an interview with an artist I've admired. "Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good".
That's a very old saying and often heard in politics.
This article https://www.riversidecorporatewellne...-enemy-of-good relates it to the search for "perfect" nutritional advice and the Japanese veneration of wabi sabi (seeing natural imperfections as beautiful because of their naturalness) is also closely related https://www.kyoto-ryokan-sakura.com/archives/191
It's also a good saying for perfectionists. I tend to analyze and procrastinate. Sometimes it's better to do something not-quite-perfectly than not at all. I once hired a project manager who was a GREAT partner for me. I'd be waiting for the perfect solution and her mantra to me was "push it forward"--meaning, you don't have to wait--just do SOMETHING!!! I still try to live by that.
"Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
www.silententry.wordpress.com
The related concept among computer geeks is "Done is better than perfect" or "Minimum viable product". Meaning if you have a great idea but you keep adding features and improving the graphics and improving the interface, someone else will probably have a similar idea and start selling their "minimum, but it works" version while you're still tinkering with your much better version trying to make it perfect. Finished software that does what it's supposed to do is always a hell of a lot better than a geewhiz feature-loaded version of the same software that no one can use because it's still being coded and tinkered with.
The same concept applies to a lot of other things, like organizing and dejunking a closet, or thinking about sending an email to someone, or planning exactly what you're going to say when you have the "birds and bees" talk with your kids (and the kids keep getting older and older because you keep waiting for the perfect moment and the perfect way to have that embarrassing talk.)
Just read this: "It's not hard; it's new. Practice makes it not new."
"Do not accumulate for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal. But accumulate for yourselves treasure in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, your heart is also." Jesus
"The only way out is through." Something I need to put into practice.
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