When “Good Enough” Goes On Too Long

I had two key fobs for my car. One was completely dead; hadn’t worked in years. The other one? Spotty at best. Functional maybe 70% of the time, and steadily declining.

The logical thing would’ve been to change the batteries, right?

And I thought about it. A lot.

But here’s the thing, it worked enough. Enough that I could start the car. Enough that I didn't have to deal with it.

So, I didn’t. For two years.

Fast forward to this summer: 95 degrees, blazing sun, and me, sitting in a parking lot like a rotisserie chicken pressing the start button over and over, waiting for the key’s signal to land. It was down to a 10% hit rate. Maybe less.

Finally, I gave in. I YouTubed the process. Bought the batteries at Walmart. Came home. Opened the fob.

Ten minutes.

Ten.

Minutes.

That’s how long it took to fix something I’d tolerated for two years.

Things Don’t Have to Be Broken to Be Draining

Just because something isn’t “falling apart,” doesn’t mean it’s not draining your energy.

We learn to normalize the slow friction. To adjust around a glitch. To delay the fix because, well... we can.

Until the inconvenience outgrows our comfort zone.

And then, once we finally do the thing:

-It feels wildly obvious in hindsight.

-It didn’t take as much time or effort as we thought.

-And we wonder: Why did I wait that long?

(This applies to wayyyy more than key fobs.)

The “Almost Fine” Trap

We do this all the time: live with thoughts that dim us. Stay in habits that dull us. Operate in relationships, routines, or identities that are almost fine.

Until every part of us is quietly screaming: You deserve better than ‘barely functional.’

Where Brave Becoming Comes In

The work I do in Brave Becoming isn’t for rock-bottom moments (though they’re welcome too). It’s for the in-between; the subtle dissatisfaction, the quiet tolerations, the part of you that knows there’s a different way...even if you haven’t mapped it yet.

Change doesn’t always start with a dramatic declaration. Sometimes it begins in the middle of a hot summer parking lot, pressing the same broken button and thinking, this can’t be it.

It’s brave to notice the thing that isn’t working.

It’s braver to do something about it.

And sometimes, the battery you’ve been avoiding is the thing that gets your life moving again.

Last words

• Don’t wait until it’s unbearable to change what’s unaligned.

• Your frustration is a signal, not a flaw.

• The fix is often simpler than we fear.

Let’s change your internal battery before your metaphorical car won’t start.

Brave Becoming’s here when you're ready.

No YouTube tutorial required ;)

Ten. Minutes.