…and you can’t give more than you have!
I guess you could call it a pet-peeve. Whenever I hear someone say that they “put in 110%” effort, it doesn’t sit right! That type of effort just doesn’t exist. So whatever follows that in a sentence is usually delusional as well! You can’t give more than you have.
With that being said, putting in 100% effort isn’t always necessary for success. You can pass a test with a score of 75 without even studying. A driving test – written or practical – doesn’t need a score of 100 to walk away a full-fledged driver. And then there are other things that have to be done 100% to be considered successful. Climbing Mt. Everest. Completing the NYC Marathon. Going over Niagra Falls in a barrel. Well, that last one might just be luck.
What is it to be a success?
What about the person that runs 18 miles of the NYC Marathon? Is it considered a failure to stop before the end? And the woman that trained and prepared for that climb up Mt. Everest only to become sick from high altitude and have to turn back? This is where your level of honesty is parallel with the measure of your success. Passing a test with a score of 75 isn’t a success if you could have gotten a 95 with some preparation.
Whether you are training to run a marathon, climb a mountain or pass a test the best you can do is 100%. If you know you did your very best, you are a success. Sometimes it’s not the outcome, it’s the effort.
The same can be said about training for black belt. At The Bushido School of Karate students must pass a test before being promoted to the next belt. Nobody is perfect, mistakes will happen, students will fail. Nobody is perfect, mistakes will happen, students will pass. The true measure of your personal success is the effort you put in, not the new belt on your waist!