Jesse Pinkman (from the TV show ‘Breaking Bad’) was asked by the moderator of his addiction recovery group to share a time when he excelled. He shared about a woodshop class in high school in which he only needed to make a simple wooden box for his final project. It something he KNEW he could do very easily, so he planned a lackadaisical requiring the bare minimum. He’d get his passing grade and leave the class behind – never looking back. So at the last minute, he crafted his box with only the minimal effort and handed it to the teacher who un-enthusiastically inspected it and simply asked Jesse a simple question.
“Is this the best you can do?”
It wasn’t a judgement or insult, or an insinuation that it looked poorly made. It was simply a question. ”Is this the best effort you could have actually given?” For some reason, when Jesse heard those words, something happened. Some inward concern awakened. Something caused Jesse to pause and ask himself the now deeper question. He knew the answer: it was absolutely the bare amount of effort he could give. That simple question, and the answer it provoked, went on to change his life.
I challenge each of you to ask this question regarding anything you do in your life. I’m not asking it as a judgement or assumption that you cut corners, or have stopped caring or have simply given up. But rather, I urge you to ask yourself “If I can do ________ better, then why aren’t I?”
Of course, there could be many reasons why. Maybe you are out of time, out of patience out of resources, or maybe…you DID do the best you could. It would be naive to think we could ALWAYS do better. Sometimes we have other priorities and the project at hand doesn’t require further effort.
But if whatever task you are doing requires energy and time to accomplish, why not make the BEST use of that energy or time? It’s quite possible that your additional effort will not be recognized or acknowledged by anyone else. But that’s not the point. It’s what the effort does inside YOU that matters. Once you reach the point of realizing that that other people’s thoughts and opinions are NOT the motivation for your effort, and that the one person in this world that it DOES matter to is YOURSELF––then you’ll experience a renewed feeling of satisfaction, progress and success.
In any case, make sure that you understand why you spent the effort invested in any project you undertake. Maybe…just maybe…you really could have done more. It’s not a matter of what you think OTHER people would say about the task or project…but what you KNOW about it from your heart. What will YOU think about it later? How will knowing the amount of effort you put forth affect OTHER things you do?
Don’t slip in to bad habits that erode your life. Always shoot to be 1% better than yesterday. Do the BEST you can and be proud of your work. At a bare minimum, you’ll find yourself striving for a new standard of excellence that will change your life!