Good. Better. Best

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There’s something powerful about a room full of people saying the same words together. Maybe there's something even more powerful about a room full of people living out those words together.

After games, the Chicago Bears head coach, Ben Johnson, leads his players through a simple mantra. He says a line. The team echoes it back.

Good.
Better.
Best.

Never let it rest.

’Til your good gets better.
And your better gets best.

It doesn’t sound complicated. But that’s the point.

In a world obsessed with instant greatness, this mantra reminds us that excellence is usually built the unglamorous way. Not through one heroic moment, but through steady commitment. Through repetition. Through refusing to settle for “good enough” when growth is still possible.

What makes this moment so striking isn’t just the words. It’s when they’re said.

Not before the game, when hope is easy.
Not in the offseason, when motivation speeches are cheap.
But after the work is done. After the hits, the mistakes, the wins, the losses.

It’s a reminder that improvement doesn’t stop when the whistle blows. It starts again the moment you think you’re finished.

And that is a lesson that travels far beyond sports.

Good might be showing up.
Better might be refining your craft.
Best might be doing it with consistency, humility, and purpose.

And “never let it rest” doesn’t mean burnout. It means awareness. It means asking, What’s one small way this can be better tomorrow than it was today?

The beauty of the mantra is that it doesn’t shame where you are. It honors it. 

Good is allowed. Better is encouraged. Best is pursued.

But rest? Complacency? That is what’s off the table.

In leadership.
In teaching.
In parenting.
In relationships.
In the quiet habits no one applauds.

Growth doesn’t require grand gestures. Sometimes it just requires a shared language that keeps everyone moving in the same direction.

Good.
Better.
Best.

Say it enough times, and eventually, you start living it.

And that’s when the ordinary becomes extraordinary.



Note: Chicago Bears HC, Ben Johnson, has fiery words for the team after the playoff game on January 10, 2026. [Fox News Article]

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