Better is the enemy of good. — Voltaire

Better is the enemy of good.

Author: Voltaire

Insight: We all know the feeling: you're working on something, it's solid, it works—but then you spot a way to make it better. So you keep tweaking. And tweaking. Hours pass. The project gets tangled in your own perfectionism, and suddenly what was good enough becomes nothing at all because you never finished it. This is what Voltaire was really pointing at. The relentless pursuit of better doesn't always move you forward; sometimes it paralyzes you. A good decision made today beats a perfect one you'll never actually reach. A meal cooked and shared beats the ideal recipe you're still researching. A conversation started, even awkwardly, beats the perfectly worded version you're rehearsing in your head. The sneaky part is that "better" sounds virtuous. It feels like ambition. But there's a crucial difference between healthy improvement and the kind of endless refinement that keeps you stuck. Knowing when something is good enough—when shipping it, sending it, or saying it matters more than one more revision—might be the most underrated form of wisdom.

Source: Questions sur l'Encyclopédie, 1770