100% is better than 99%
I came across an interesting idea last week: 100% is better than 99%, or as Jack Canfield puts it in his book, The Success Principles, “99% is a bitch and 100% is a breeze”.
The idea struck a chord with me.
How many of us make commitments but are unable stick to them? And, then, how often do we subsequently toil only to hit a brick wall?
Well, it is those small commitments that determine our big achievements.
There will be challenges as you strive. You will have bad days and you will have good days, and this is the only guarantee we have in this great trek called life. The only common denominator in winning is a complete commitment to your processes and the consistency which it breeds.
And, that is where most of our problems arise.
We have grand goals but don’t commit to them fully. We make a halfway commitment, maybe even reach 99%, but we fail to go all the way and then we wonder why we are falling short.
I grapple with this principle of commitment when it comes to my training.
Late last year I decided to try out a new sport — boxing. It was a hefty decision in hindsight. The training is demanding and the process of learning the sport and improving is taxing — physically and mentally. There were many times in the beginning when I couldn’t even wake up to show up for gym. There have been downcast stretches when I couldn’t see progress.
However, once I became completely committed to boxing and my training, everything became easier to do. The training never gets easy. Ever. But, by committing to attending every session, by committing to align my lifestyle to the demands of martial arts, everything around my boxing experience — from the recovery, to the learning — has become more manageable.
This is as true in sport as it is business or any other sphere of life. When you commit 100% to anything, you make it non-negotiable to your subconscious mind. There is no discussion as to whether you should get up in the morning or not, no debate over doing the extra learning.
The payoff when you commit 100% is that time becomes your aid in producing results.
In companies, the commitment of workers to their teams can have a transforming effect on their performance. In business, committed leadership inspires committed members and stimulates growth.
The idea is simple, yet so understated.
Change the conversation with yourself — go all the way
“There is a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in doing something, you do it only when it’s convenient. When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results,” Ken Blanchard says.
The conversation you have with yourself on a daily basis, therefore, has to change.
Commit to giving everything you have.
Hold the thought of your commitment.
Push it.
Say it out loud.
Perhaps, develop a mantra as a reminder and encouragement.
Remember; the spoils of war go to those who make a 100% commitment to the outcome. The ancient Greeks used to burn their ships behind them when they headed into battle removing any option of retreat. By adopting a “no matter what it takes” attitude, the road to achieving your desired results smoothens.
99% commitment is not possible
Be sure, 99% commitment is not possible when it comes to sport, business or building our lives. We are either 100% in or not at all.
What we come to notice is that successful figures in all domains adhere to the “no exceptions rule” when it comes to their daily disciplines — 80%, 90%, even 99% will not get it done.
Only total commitment and 100% effort will suffice.
In the words of Osho: “When you are total, it is good; and when you are divided, it is evil. Divided you suffer; united, you dance, you sing, you celebrate.”
What is the one thing you can commit to 100% today?
The time for half measures has passed.
