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 t...