You may have heard, “If something is worth doing, it is worth doing well.” Sometimes we take this to the extreme shoot for perfection. Often times, though, perfection is crippling to productivity.
New Idea: “If something is worth doing, it is worth doing poorly.”
I heard someone say this in opposition to the traditional view. Makes sense if you think about it. If you exercise poorly, it will do more for you than not exercising at all. Who would choose not to exercise at all? People trying to do it perfectly.
Of course, our goal is not to do things poorly. The goal is to do things that are worth doing.
What are some other things you could do poorly, but would still be worth doing? Please share in the comments or on social media.
4 Comments
Holly Scherer
Completely agree! That’s how we learned to walk, talk, cook, and everything else that’s important to our survival. Then many of us learn that if we’re not going to be good at it right away, we shouldn’t even try. If you wanna do, if it creates value in your life, DO IT!
adamsuter
If it “creates value in your life, DO IT!” Yes!! Love that, Holly. Thank you!
Stuart Lester
So not necessarily a “thing worth doing poorly”, but a similar concept is:
Q: What is the best workout plan?
A: Any workout plan that you will stick to.
Same idea: it doesn’t have to be perfect, as long as you’re making progress.
Eating better is a habit I’d like to form. It is okay if I’m not perfect on that…if I can eat better sometimes, that’s still better than never eating better. It’s okay if I fail in that goal some, because the successes will still help me get better.
Maybe this can extend to many/most other forms of habit forming?
adamsuter
Yeah, I’d say so. When we try to create new habits, we get bogged down when we mess up or aren’t perfect. I’ve found that the right habits have many awesome benefits, even when I’m not perfect.
On the health note, the habit that has helped the most is recording what I eat. Even when I record poorly, it helps. Even when I choose to eat unhealthy stuff, but I record it, I do better.
Going to remember your Q&A. That is clutch. One person told me his workout plan is “consistent mediocrity.” He is not trying to run a marathon, but he is not in the gym only for two weeks at the beginning of the year either.