The art of staying sane: “Good Enough” and “Mai Pen Rai”
The two phrases that saved my career in New York.
The art of staying sane: “Good Enough” and “Mai Pen Rai”.
Every day, I work surrounded by excellence.
The search for the best ingredients.
The discipline behind every plate.
The pressure of service.
The responsibility of important collaborations.
The constant feeling that everything can always be better.
In this world, details matter.
A lot.
But there is a fine line between excellence and obsession.
Between caring deeply and losing yourself in the pursuit of impossible perfection.
Growing as a chef, and as a person, is a constant state of becoming.
And on this journey, two phrases have helped me more than I expected.
The first one is Good Enough.
Not as an excuse.
Not as a lower standard.
Not as “settling.”
At a certain level, your personal “good enough” is already a form of excellence.
It means understanding when something is ready.
When a dish has a soul.
When an idea is alive.
When adding one more touch may actually take something away.
Sometimes, done with truth is better than perfect without life.
The second phrase is Mai Pen Rai.
A beautiful Thai expression that means:
don’t worry, let it go, it’s okay.
A last-minute change in the dining room?
An ingredient that doesn’t arrive on time?
A detail that does not go exactly as planned?
Take a breath.
Stay present.
Find the solution.
Keep moving.
That is not weakness.
That is grace under pressure.
True mastery is not the absence of mistakes.
It is knowing when to push,
when to stop,
when to accept,
and when to let go.
Good Enough taught me when something is ready.
Mai Pen Rai taught me how to survive what I cannot control.
And maybe, somewhere between the two, there is a healthier idea of excellence.
What about you?
Do you struggle with perfection paralysis?
Or have you learned the art of knowing when enough is enough?
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