The Good, Better, Best Chant › What it means
What "Good, Better, Best" Actually Means
It sounds like a pep rhyme. It's closer to a rule: the day you win is the day you're most likely to stop improving, so that's the day you say it.
Line by line
- Good, better, best.
- Three levels, in order. Good is where you are. It's not an insult; it's a starting point.
- Never let it rest.
- The instruction. Don't settle at any of the three. "Rest" here means complacency, not sleep. The line has a life of its own; see never let it rest.
- 'Til your good gets better,
- The first step up. Whatever you did well, do it better.
- And your better gets best.
- The second step. And the rhyme doesn't say what happens after best, because the loop just starts again.
Why only after wins
The Bears don't chant it after losses. That's the part most people miss. After a loss nobody needs reminding to improve; after a win, everybody does. Johnson built the chant into the one moment a team is most tempted to relax, so the celebration and the warning arrive together (ESPN). Players describe it the same way: good is not good enough, and the message hits hardest in the weeks after you've been told you're good (ESPN).
Johnson holds himself to it too. After a testy halftime interview in 2025 he said publicly that he would be better, and a Bears writer noted the obvious: a coach who asks his players to be good, better, best has to accept the same standard (Bleacher Nation).
Why it works as a chant
- It rhymes and it's short. Four lines, fifteen seconds, no one forgets it.
- It's call and response. Saying it back out loud is a small act of agreement. You can't mumble it.
- It's scarce. You only get to do it when you've earned it, so it stays a reward.
- It praises improvement, not winning. Which is why it travels so easily out of football and into classrooms and offices.
Where else it's used
The rhyme predates the Bears by more than a century and was a classroom staple for most of the 20th century (who said it). Some documented uses, so you can see the range:
| Setting | How it's used | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Home, St. Croix | Ione Duncan teaches it to her children as a nursery rhyme; her son Tim repeats it to himself for a 19-year NBA career and in his Hall of Fame speech | Encyclopedia.com, KENS 5 |
| First grade, Mississippi | A mother sends her son off to school with it; he quotes it from the pulpit decades later | Mt. Olive Baptist |
| High school baseball, Ohio | Coach Marvin McCollum repeats it to every player in Hamilton; they remember it as adults | PassItOn comments |
| Manufacturing | A machining company adopts it as a one-line statement of continuous improvement | HV Manufacturing |
| Real estate district, Dallas | Printed on a district banner (with the wrong author) | D Magazine |
| Country music | Chase Rice's band chants it before every show | iHeart |
| NFL locker room | The Bears, after every win since August 2025 | ESPN |
It's a growth-mindset lesson in sixteen words: effort is the variable, and the job is never finished. One Chicago writer put the balance well: it doesn't shame where you are. Good is allowed. Better is encouraged. Best is pursued. Rest is what's off the table (Jeremy Ferrero).
The honest caveat
"Never let it rest" is a line about complacency, not a license for burnout. The Bears say it, then go home. If you're using it with kids, say that part out loud: the chant is for the five seconds after a win, not for every waking hour.
Using it in a speech, a classroom or a meeting
- Say the four lines once, plainly, before you explain anything.
- Name the "good": the specific thing that went well. The chant is empty without it.
- Name one "better": one concrete thing to improve next time. One, not five.
- Close with the lines again, and if you have a group, make them say it back.
For the step-by-step on running it with a team, see for coaches. For cards to put on a wall, see quotes.
FAQ
What does "good, better, best, never let it rest" mean?
Don't settle at any level. Whatever you did well, do it better; whatever you did better, make it your best. Good is the starting point, not the goal.
Why do the Bears only say it after wins?
Because the temptation to coast comes after winning. The chant attaches a reminder to improve to the moment of celebration.
Is good, better, best a growth mindset quote?
Yes, in effect. It frames ability as something you improve through effort, which is the core of the growth-mindset idea, and it predates that term by about a century.
Is "never let it rest" about working nonstop?
No. It's about not becoming complacent. The Bears chant it for fifteen seconds and go home.
Who uses good, better, best outside football?
Teachers, parents, a Hall of Fame basketball player, a country band, and at least one manufacturing company. The documented examples are in the table above.