When I was at Kripalu, I heard this very wise thing.
(Just to let you know, I’m probably going to be talking about Kripalu a lot for a little while. It happens, when you go away to a special place that’s so wonderfully far-removed from your usual day-to-day that it shakes up your insides. It happened last year when I went to Rally, and it’s happening now, post-Kripalu.)
As I was saying, I heard this very wise thing. One of my fellow participants had done a one-on-one session with a yoga instructor, and the yoga instructor had said,
“Why don’t you just give 70% of your effort to this? You seem like the sort of person who always gives 100% to everything. That leaves 0% for yourself.”
When our new friend shared this wisdom, a murmur went around the room, which I translated as collective awe at that bit of smartness.
It made so much sense.
It was also in direct opposition to vigorous yoga practices I’ve done in years past, in which it was common for our teachers to encourage us to bring our effort to 110%.
Whoever made up this rule that we have to give 100% to everything? And what does that even mean, in practice? Is it good for us, or does it just sound nice to conceptualize of something as ephemeral as effort in percentages?
My guess is that in practice, giving 100% can mean ignoring the world’s rainbow of complexity, where no activity exists in a vacuum. It could also be a great dictum to encourage single-minded pursuit of a goal outside of oneself, at the expense of self-care.
I’m sure I’ve used the ol’ “give 100%” instruction once or twice to tell myself I wasn’t doing well enough, just because I hadn’t wrung that last bit of life out of my person in pursuit of a goal.
What kind of organic, savory, languid relief could we experience if, instead of aiming to give 100% at work tomorrow, we aimed for 70%? What about at yoga? How ’bout in making dinner?
While 100% still sounds perfectly plump and round to me, 70% (or less? or more?) just seems so much more honest. So much more gritty.
And so much sweeter.
YES! Giving 100% at work is often what I strive for (and, honestly, often what happens) and then, I come home, and can barely function as a human, let alone a loving, thoughtful adult human. Of course, part of this is the nature of being so new in my field and wanting to learn as much as I can, but it doesn’t make me a very interesting or healthy person outside of work! Great post, as usual!!!
Oh, girl, keep those bits of wisdom coming! I so SO needed to hear this today.
Tomorrow, I commit to 70% – the world won’t stop spinning. Thank you for reminding me of this.
Louise: I can aaaabsolutely see how that could be the case for you. I mean, it’s often the case for me when coming home from work. Today, when I arrived home pretty pooped, my solution was just to sit on the couch with my head resting on a pillow, eyes closed. And going to bed EARLY. When we do end up giving that 100%, expansive rest is in order.
Tiffany: I’m so glad to hear this was well-timed for you! It certainly was for me. Way to commit to 70% for tomorrow — I know you can do it.
Oh, this is Gold. GOLD! Exactly what I needed (& wanted) to read, in the exact way that I could hear it. Keep going Kylie, you’re rocking it!
I just discovered your site.. I have several other beings in my life (meow-ers, and barkers)… I recently added a fish to my world, and named him Kripalu. He’s been a reminder of mindfulness and staying present and pure moments, and his name represents what sanscript states so beautifully and so simply(as you most likely are aware)… Compassion / Compassionate One. Thanks for reading and for reminding me.. the more I see this word.. the more it fills me up. With love, gratitude, & compassion, marcy
Marcy: You just blew my mind! I actually had no idea of what Kripalu meant. That’s such a sweet name for a fishy. Thank you for letting me know of the meaning; now that place seems even more meaningful to me. Wow.