Second best

You can get a lot of mileage out of striving for the next best thing.

Consider: the next best thing from dating a movie star is to be someone who they’d wish they could spend more time with.

And the next best thing from being a child’s parent is for them to be your pupil.

Similarly, a homemade meal, made with care, is often just as good as anything you eat from a celebrity chef.

And an imperfect solution that lasts is often more preferable to a “perfect one” that isn’t sustainable.

Sometimes it pays to settle for second best.