100 Percent

Do you ever give 100 percent of your effort in any one thing?

I'd argue that most people, even dedicated, committed people, rarely do.

As a parent, I might give a solid 75% day-to-day. I could do more, and I know I could. I put off playing and teaching in favor of things I'd prefer to do instead.

As a person of faith, I might give 60%. I could do more, and I wish I did. I could make studying scripture a higher priority. I could give more effort in preparing for the Sabbath day. I notice hundreds of things in a day that I could do to bring me closer to my Savior, to be more like Him.

In a workout, I might try to give it everything I've got, but part of me still holds something back. I might be aware of how sore I'd be if I tried to lift something a little heavier. I might tell myself I'm pacing myself so I'll last through the hour. But at the end of the hour, I can look back and see where I could have given more, tried harder.

The trouble is, we as people often think we are giving our best effort, tricking ourselves into thinking that anything harder will be impossible, that doing more is not worth the return. We think more effort would just be beyond our ability.

It's important not to be too hard on yourself, and it's important to see how perfectionistic tendencies get in the way of progress.

However, sometimes we take the rhetoric of giving ourselves a break a little too far. We feel like we deserve an easier path, so we choose the easy way even when we know the harder way is the most important or the most rewarding.

And then something happens. We actually start to get weaker. We start lifting a lighter load on the regular, and our capacity for doing more gradually goes away. We start to believe we have a more limited ability, and we act within those limits.

When weightlifting, you have something called a one-rep max. This means the weight you can lift just one time, and you aren't able to lift something heavier. It's your 100% capacity.

When training to get stronger, you use this number to gauge your work. You don't have to lift 100% every day. You'd hurt yourself if you did.

But you have to know what you're capable of in order to get stronger. You have to be aware of what your maximum capacity can give you.

But capacity and effort are two different entities. One is physical, and the other one is mental. You can give 100 percent of your effort when working at only 50 percent of your ability.

You still measure your performance against your best ability, with the constant goal to eventually increase your capacity, instead of decreasing it.

The easy path will give you very little in return. It'll be an enjoyable walk, but that's all. The harder path will challenge you.

It's hard to choose something heavier when you're not used to it.
It's hard to love your neighbor when your neighbor is annoying.
It's hard to be patient when your children are fighting.
It's hard to choose to be different.
It's hard to give more time, more love, more kindness, more gratitude.

But don't back down. Find your capacity, and then give each day 100 percent of your purpose. And on the days when you aren't able to, be real with yourself. Admit you could have given a bit more, and course correct.

Just remember: don't scale down your effort, because little by little, your willingness to work will determine your capacity.