You may have heard that the ancient Greeks had some mottoes:
- Know thyself - hard to do, thyself is changing all the time, but still worth trying all the time
- Make no promises - very hard to do, what with your beloved wanting marital promise, your bank wanting a promise, and your creditors, too
- Moderation in all things - worth applying everywhere
A friend recently warned a group of us that it is often best to aim for "moderate success". Such an aim is difficult if you are an American, especially one who reads and lives by the book of the Old Testament, Ecclesiastes. That is where it says: Whatever you try, put all your might into it. (9:10) If you're TOO successful, you get bought out by some big corporation, or suffer some similar swallowed-up fate. Moderate success is better for longterm longevity.
It seems to me that an additional problem often emerges if you are a woman. You know the saying that a woman has to be twice as good as a man to be considered his equal. That same problem can emerge for minorities. But, over-stressing superior performance often increases the focus on traditional, basic indicators of quality. That stress and maybe an tendency to be perfect (perfect hair, perfect make-up, perfect shoes) can combine to create high anxiety and low willingness to be different.
Since women have excellent imaginations, they and society in general, and any organization they are helping, suffer unnecessary limitation by expending too much effort on perfection and flawlessness. I say," Do a good job, one that you know is good, and relax!"
