  The good life for human beings can be understood in at least two importantly different ways. On the first understanding, such a life is construed in terms of well-being. The best life for a human being is a life that goes maximally well for the person who leads it. On the second understanding, the good life for a human being is construed in terms of excellence or success. An excellent human life could be a life that is best in terms of well-being, but it need not be, for it is possible that such a life requires a human being to make sacrifices in his own well-being for the sake of other persons or goods. Thus the notion of an excellent human life is broader than that of a life high in well-being. And since it is the broader notion, a general characterization of perfectionism should employ it rather than  well-being.[1]