'That'll do, Pig!'
The words are benchmarked into the brains of 90s children everywhere. An allegory for 'enough-ness', established long ago by the above-and-beyond endeavours of a Piglet-shaped protagonist.
This cipher for 'good job under the circumstances', is one that I never anticipated would transcend fiction... to find relevance in everyday chore-juggling, child-herding life.
Time was, not so long ago, when ‘that’ll do’ was an alien concept.
Everything, particularly anything of any importance, needed to be ‘just so.’
Not necessarily in a perfectionist kinda’ way, but certainly in a more time-consuming, stress-inducing way than I am accustomed to these days.
Eyeliner gone wrong?
Take it off and start again.
Copywriting assignment not reading right?
May as well ‘write off’ the next few hours.
Nowadays, neither time nor energy permits for this kind of pernicketyness.
My boundaries of ‘finished’ have grown slack, but I’m not entirely convinced that this isn’t a good thing, for more reasons than those of a ‘details matter’ standpoint might fully understand.
From the blog posts that are posted ‘live’ (done!) without so much of backwards glance, to the instagram reels that AREN’T foregrounded in over-analysis of the positioning of one’s left elbow!
Whenever I reflect on this absence of over-thought, it’s with the old artist’s adage in mind, which stipulates that half the skill is in knowing when to stop, step away from the canvas, and avoid the trap of overwork on which the downfall of so many masterpieces is pegged.
I also keep in mind the cardinal rule of performance, where pretending a slip-up isn’t so, and cloaking the symptoms of one's human-ness in a veil of confidence not only leaves audiences none-the-wiser, but the Creative’s ego intact!
Nowadays… I am that artist. And that Dancer. Fudging my way through the fun and frolics of having too much to do, and too little time, and hoping nobody notices when I drop a stitch, or two.
Nowadays, by circumstance rather than choice, ‘that’ll do’ is a solid part of my lexicon.
I appreciate there will always be a gulf between my idea of ‘sufficient’ and the next person’s, but what seems more important than this, at least in the context of this article, are the radical gains to come from a ‘don’t think’ approach to life.
The amazing creative advantages of employing ‘that’ll do’ before overwork grabs one’s work in its vice-like jaws.
Also, the mental health respite of embracing the rarely-acknowledged coexistence of one’s unvarnished best efforts… and the idea of ‘perfect’ that real, all-the-things-juggling life so rarely feels conducive to.
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