I’ve shared this before, but because it so rightly represents my life and because I’m convinced that I’m not alone, I will re-introduce/introduce to you the idea of my 90%. Here’s what it looks like in my life.
I like to be an intentional person. I believe that as much as possible, if I’m aware and intentional in my choices and actions that they will then mostly represent what’s important to me. It helps me to live aligned and to be congruent. As I make plans, commitments and set goals I go into them with the intentionality of doing them well. In other words, I’m not a half-ass type of person. But it never fails that despite my level of awareness and intention setting, a lot of what I do I tend to max out at the 90% and the last 10% of an action or task, well that seems to fall through the cracks. It’s a strange phenomenon that keeps showing up in my life. This past week has been an epic reminder of my 90%.
We have summer plans. The kind where you strive for the right balance of downtime and relaxation with fun. After a busy week, we planned a simple, easy get together with some friends. Sounded perfect. In reality, I completely forgot about it until the last minute and ended up having to rush, I made all this food and as I’m heading out the door realize that I had zero ice to keep it cool. Then I drove by 2 gas stations on the way, forgetting to stop and get ice too. Made it 90% of the way there, last 10% failed.
I’ve committed to doing a few self-empowerment and improvement things recently. Nothing extraneous but mostly related to reading and journaling. I’ve set reminders, scheduled time in my calendar. I get to where I’m going and realize that while I’ve got my book with me, that I forgot my journal. Made it 90%, last 10% dropped.
One of my favorites, I buy a new tea kettle for my office. I buy a huge assortment of teas to share. The first time I have a friend in my office space, I excitedly ask if they want any tea to which they say yes. As they begin to utter the word yes, I immediately realize I have no cups. A kettle, yes. Plenty of tea to choose from, yes. But an actual vehicle in which to pour and drink the tea, well no. I hadn’t thought of that. Made it 90%, last 10% - fail!
I could go on, but you get the point. But here’s my question to you. If this is your experience too, then what are you choosing to focus on? Is it the effort, energy, value and integrity that you put into the first 90%. The part that you did well, with love, grace and enjoyment. Or is it that last 10% that you fall short, mess up or overlook? Honestly, sometimes that last 10% bites me in the ass and it hurts. I let it be a disappointment. I shake my head at myself and say, “you did it again.” But with more cuss words. But my goal is to focus on what’s actually more important and what actually more truly represents me; that first 90% where I gave it my all, that I did it with kind and loving intention, that I feel good about. That 90% is bad ass and is where I know I’m in my groove with myself and the universe. It’s where I want to spend the majority of my time. And while I do occasionally make it all the way and pull off a finished product with a home run, more times than not I actually get to the 90%. And that’s ok. It’s more than ok, in fact.
We all have our examples of making it half way or majority of the way there, only to realize in the end that we didn’t quite pull it off. Why does this happen? Well, my choice is to recognize that it’s because we are human and we aren’t designed to be perfect. This is a shout out and a reminder to everyone pulling their 90% that you are perfectly imperfect!