🔵 The Good Enough Line

There's a line that most people never cross.

They hit 'good enough' in their career, 'good enough' in their health, 'good enough' in their relationships.

And they stay there forever.

Not because they lack the potential to go further, but because they've mistaken a plateau for a peak.

The Comfort Zone Ceiling

At first, 'good enough' feels like victory.

You landed the job. You've got some savings in the bank. You make it to the gym twice a week. Your relationship has settled into a predictable rhythm without major drama.

Check, check, check.

But if you've ever had that nagging feeling that you're capable of significantly more, and you can't quite put your finger on why you're not getting there...

...it just might be that you're stuck on the Good Enough Line.

This isn't rock bottom. Rock bottom is visible. It hurts. It demands action.

It's a soft landing that feels safe, familiar, and perfectly reasonable.

You're not in crisis, so there's no urgency. You're not in pain, so there's no catalyst for change.

You're comfortable, and let's be real, you can live a great life at this comfortable level.

Yet, this comfort is also the greatest enemy of elite.

Crossing the Line

Elite performers don't settle for good enough. They hit the same plateau, and then ask:

What's on the other side?

They continue to iterate by pushing through both discomfort AND comfort. Because the truth is:

The only way to become truly elite at anything is to push past the point where most people stop trying.

But here's the twist...

You Can't Push Everywhere

Not every area of your life needs to cross that line.

In fact, trying to be elite in every area is a recipe for burnout, disappointment, and mediocrity.

Being elite demands disproportionate investments of time, energy, attention, and resources.

This means you need to decide where you want to cross the line and where you are content with 'good enough'.

The Two Ways People Fall Short

From this lens, two paths lead away from elite performance:

Path 1: Good Enough Everywhere: These people settle for 'good enough' in every area of their lives. Their career is fine. Their health is okay. Their relationships are stable but not deep.

It's not a bad life. It can even be a nice life. But they never discover what they're truly capable of. They never push past that line to see what elite looks like.

Path 2: Elite Everywhere: These individuals attempt to be elite in too many areas simultaneously. The result? They spread themselves so thin that they don't even reach 'good enough' in most places. They end up frustrated, exhausted, and falling short everywhere.

The Elite Choice

Here's what actual elite performers understand:

To be truly elite in one area, you must be willing to accept 'good enough' in most others.

This isn't the same as settling. Settling means you know you can reach a higher level with effort and focus, but as we've discovered, that's not possible if you have other areas that are higher priority.

And that's okay.

Good enough is a wonderful spot to be for many areas of your life, especially if it allows you to be elite in the ones that matter most.

The CEO who wants to build a world-class company might have workouts that are efficient, but not fully optimized. They might have healthy meals prepared for them, but are unable to cook chef-level meals themselves. They might be able to perform many of the company's key jobs better themselves, but find others who can do them well enough so they can focus on the highest-leverage activities.

For you, this might mean:

Focusing on developing the skills to optimize your career earnings, while maintaining a simple investment portfolio, rather than trying to optimize your investments for the absolute highest returns.

Building deep, meaningful relationships with 3-5 close friends while being pleasant but not particularly close with your broader social circle, rather than trying to maintain intimate friendships with 20+ people.

Passing on outstanding business opportunities in favor of doubling down on the products/services you're world-class at delivering.

Being the parent who shows up fully for key moments while hiring help for daily logistics, rather than trying to be both the most present parent AND handle every carpool, meal prep, and household task yourself.

Having a simple fitness and nutrition routine that captures the vast majority of the health benefits, even if it means not having six-pack abs and leaving a few points of optimization on the table.

Choosing Your Line

So, where does that leave you?

You need to be honest about which part of your life deserves elite-level effort, and which ones can stop at good enough.

Ask yourself:

• Where am I settling for good enough when I could push for elite?

• Where am I trying to be elite when good enough would actually serve me better?

• What would it look like to go all-in on my chosen area while accepting good enough in the rest?

Your Decision

You have three choices:

1. Accept good enough everywhere. Live a pleasant, comfortable life, while wondering what you could have accomplished.

2. Try to be elite everywhere. Exhaust yourself chasing too many goals. Achieve mediocrity disguised as ambition.

3. Choose your line. Pick key areas for elite focus. Accept good enough in the rest. Discover what you're truly capable of.

Depending on which path you choose, a year from now, you'll be in one of three places:

Still wondering what you're capable of because you stayed comfortable everywhere.

Still exhausted from trying to optimize everything and mastering nothing.

Or looking back at the moment you decided to find out what elite actually feels like.

The line isn't going anywhere.

But every day you spend behind it makes it more challenging to cross.

See you next week,
Elliot Roe