Good enough

During our monthly partners’ meeting today, we briefly discussed the tragic death of Vanessa Ford, a 47-year-old partner at Pinsent Masons, a highly respected UK law firm. Vanessa passed away in September 2023 when she fell onto a railway line in London and was struck by a train after having consumed “a significant amount of alcohol while undergoing an acute mental health crisis”.  She had just successfully completed an “all-consuming,” “once-in-a few-years transaction”, working up to 18 hours a day.  Her passing serves as a stark reminder of just how tough the legal profession can be and raises important questions about mental health and work-life balance.

Vanessa's life, as described by those who knew her, paints a picture of someone who seemed almost superhuman. She was "good at everything," "the perfect person to be around" and a “talented and inspiring colleague.”  She was also “highly respected and admired,” a “consummate professional,” “intelligent and warm,” a “dedicated and loving mother,” a “good friend” and “worked very hard to satisfy all her responsibilities”.  Just reading those words felt overwhelming.  Can anyone really be all that?  And if so, I couldn’t help but wonder about the immense pressure she must have felt to live up to such expectations.

The demands for responsiveness, excellence and efficiency are so deeply ingrained in today's high-paced society that A+ perfection has become a part of our DNA from childhood.  However, the reality is, with the multiple priorities and areas of life that we care about, it’s impossible to excel at everything. 

So, what are our options?  We could choose to prioritize one thing over everything else, but that might not be possible or desirable.  The better approach may be to shift our mindset to strive to be “good enough” in the few things that truly matter to us.  This shift goes beyond merely acknowledging that we can’t excel at everything and that it's acceptable to fall short in some areas without feeling guilty.  It involves understanding that putting in the right amount of time and effort into a task or goal to achieve a satisfactory result is more important than striving for perfection.  While we may not have aimed for a B or C in school, at times, aiming for “good enough” is exactly what we need to do in life.

#VanessaFord, #GoodEnough, #Perfection