Winnicott’s Enduring Lesson on Being Good Enough

In a culture where even quick emails get run through AI tools for “polishing,” our watches assign nightly sleep scores, and comparisons to others are a click away, optimization—the drive to maximize performance and eliminate inefficiency—is alluring. It can, however, intensify perfectionism, burnout, and a sense that nothing is ever quite enough. As optimization expands from engineering and logistics into identity, relationships, and the process of learning, it is worth asking what might be lost when every imperfection becomes a problem to solve.

To wrestle with that question, this talk revisits the work of British pediatrician and psychoanalyst Donald W. Winnicott, whose mid-20th-century concept of the “good enough mother” may be more radical than ever. Moving between psychoanalytic theory and contemporary life, it poses the question: what if being good enough, rather than perfectly optimized, is what makes success possible?

Dr. Allison Rulseh, MSOE assistant professor and licensed psychologist, will explore “Optimization and Its Discontents: Winnicott’s Enduring Lesson on Being Good Enough.”

This free public lecture and discussion will take place Wednesday, March 4, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Grohmann Museum, 1000 N. Broadway. Free parking is available on MSOE surface lots.

This program is part of the Down the Rabbit Hole Lecture Series, sponsored by MSOE’s Humanities, Social Science and Communication Department. Students, faculty and members of the community are invited to explore complex and thought-provoking topics that challenge conventional perspectives. Featuring engaging talks by MSOE faculty, the series is designed to spark curiosity, foster interdisciplinary dialogue, and encourage deeper inquiry into societal, cultural and historical issues. This initiative reflects the department’s commitment to cultivating critical thinking and intellectual exploration across the MSOE community.