Good. Better. Best.

 “Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best.”

Over the past few months, the first half of that statement has been everywhere. Good. Better. Best. It became a mantra tied to the Chicago Bears’ unexpected season and their return to the playoffs. For many fans, those words felt new. Fresh. Energizing.

They were not new to me.

Years ago, when I was principal at Plato, we talked a great deal about excellence. Not as a buzzword, and certainly not as a synonym for perfection. We talked about excellence as doing the best you possibly can with what you have, where you are. There was a stretch of time when we began many of our mornings with the full mantra, not just the catchy first line.

The emphasis mattered.

We were intentional about framing excellence as personal growth rather than comparison. Today should be better than yesterday. This week better than last week. This month better than last month. This year better than last year. If that progression held, then we were doing the work. That was excellence. Not flawless execution, but consistent forward movement.

That distinction matters more than ever.

The Bears’ loss to the Rams was, in classic "Cardiac Bears" fashion, a tough one to watch. A good game. A close game. A game that invites endless second-guessing. There is no shortage of critics who can identify the play calls, the moments, or the missed opportunities that might have changed the outcome. Those critiques are easy to make from the couch, far removed from freezing temperatures and game-speed pressure.

I choose to believe they gave it their best.

And if that is true, there is nothing more I can reasonably ask of them.

That same standard should apply to us.

Too often, we hold ourselves hostage to a version of success that was created by someone else. A benchmark we did not design. A timeline we did not choose. When we fall short of that external expectation, we label ourselves as failing, even when growth is clearly happening. While that pressure may motivate some, it quietly erodes many others.

Excellence does not require perfection. It requires effort, reflection, and persistence.

I also recognize that this mindset becomes harder when outcomes are not internal, but judged externally. Test scores. Evaluations. Public results. Wins and losses. Just as people were quick to critique the Bears, how much easier would it be to accept our own best if we believed others would accept it too? What might change if we assumed, more often than not, that people are giving their best within their current capacity?

Do I wish I were watching the Bears take on the Seahawks today? Absolutely.

But I am also at peace with the outcome because I believe the pursuit was honest. And that matters. If excellence truly guided the season, then next year will be better than this year. Growth has a way of compounding when the focus is right.

Good. Better. Best.

Not a slogan tied to a season, but a mindset tied to life.

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