Can everyone give 100% effort, always?
Nope, it's not that easy.
Hi everyone! I didn’t forget about this post. Today I took the time out of my day to relax, but then I forgot about crafting today’s post.
And because I am proud to be lazy, today’s article is short and sweet to the point. You’re welcome!! 🤠
So, onto the subject- is it possible to feel 100% every day, all the time?
Effort in small doses
I found this idea from a writer’s newsletter, where a talented writer’s coach mentioned a tip about how we can’t do everything 100%.
Honestly, I’m not a doctor or therapist, but I don’t think so. You, or anyone else, shouldn’t try your hardest all the time.
First off, it’s not sustainable. Imagine a runner taking every running match they could find (using their 100%) and then running at those matches with 100% speed every time. I don’t think their health would be great afterward.
I used a sports analogy, but this can apply to any career or effort you want to put into anything.
If someone wants to go to college, then it’s likely they're going to take steps to do so. But the amount of energy you take to do those steps can look different. One person might stay up until 12 am every night and panic that they’re not going to the “best” college, and the other might make small efforts daily (or weekly). They’re both going to college. It’s just the amount of effort looked very different.
From “Try Your Best” to “Reserve Your Best”
Where does this come from? Every sports team, academic club, or any type of club you were in probably had this mantra when you were in school- work hard to get where you need to go. Try your best every time, and you'll succeed.
But how hard do we need to try our best? Nobody tells us about that. Many coaches or teachers don’t tell you that you need to first take small steps to get where you need to go. They just tell us to do it. And we did. (while spraining our ankles or dealing with overemotional teammates.)
“Trying our best” every time gets us into this race and the illusion that if we work hard, we’ll succeed no matter what. This doesn’t work out every time.
The newsletter where I found this idea also mentioned Sara Porkalob (she/them), a theatre artist who was interviewed by Vulture on her appearance in the Broadway play 1776.
In the interview, she mentions that because being in 1776 isn’t her dream, then she’s only giving 75% effort. And out of 207 comments, a lot of people didn’t like that.
But the reasoning she gives behind that tells more than a lot of self-help books will give you. She mentions that her 75% effort is still good enough because she is a talented actress. She needs her energy for other creative efforts. And if her heart isn’t in it, why would she, a person with autonomy over her time, energy, and strength, play a role with 100% effort?
I’m not saying nobody should try 100% at anything they do. I just think that many people try too hard in something that they genuinely don’t believe in, and then get disappointed in that situation not turning out the way they hoped.
We’re not superhuman, so we don’t have an unending level of energy with us. It’s okay to give 90% or even 50% to a task, even when the world is saying we can’t.