Is “Useful” Enough?

I had an interesting realization recently.

It started with something quite ordinary.

I had shared a reflection that felt meaningful in the moment. Instead of letting the idea sit in a notebook or disappear into a growing collection of unfinished thoughts, I followed through and recorded it.

You might think that would have felt complete.

In some ways it did.

But almost immediately another question appeared.

Not a practical or technical question.

A deeper one.

And as I sat with it, I realized it touched something I suspect many of us know well.

There can be a subtle tendency to measure what we create, offer, or contribute against an invisible standard. A standard that quietly asks whether something is significant enough, impactful enough, impressive enough.

As I sat with this question, I became curious about how often we move away from simply participating in life and into evaluating ourselves.

We contribute something. Then we measure it.

We offer something. Then we judge it.

And somewhere along the way, usefulness no longer feels sufficient.

Before long, we can lose sight of a much simpler question.

What if something doesn’t need to be extraordinary to have value?

What if usefulness matters more than we realize?

This reflection led me into a deeper exploration of contribution, performance, perfection, and what healing sometimes looks like in practice.

Not just in our work as therapists, coaches, and helping professionals, but in the way we relate to ourselves.

Listen: