In Defense of Phoning it In

In Defense of Phoning it In

Last Saturday, after working over 80 hours, I dragged myself to the grocery store for some ice cream and potato chips. As I stood in line for my purchase, I began to observe some of the polished women at the check-out, many of them characterizing our town that boasted to have the second-lowest crime rate in the country, with one of the highest median incomes.

Their homes likely had perfectly landscaped lawns, dazzling Christmas decorations for the holidays, $50,000 minivans in the garage, and fabulous homemade meals, served over a beautifully decorated table, seven days a week. Their children often went to the finest schools, excelled in sports, all while they advanced in their own impressive careers. They did it all, tried their best at all times, and achieved excellence in many of life’s categories.  They were stylish, impressive, and exhausted.

Yoda once said, “Do. Or do not. There is no try.” This is a mantra that seems to be seeping from my town’s pores. Inspirational posters and slogans could be seen anywhere from the kindergarten classrooms to the break rooms in our community, with the expectation that 100% effort was to be given to all things, at all times.  

Constantly trying one’s best in all areas, no matter the cost, is not only exhausting, but I believe it can be counterproductive. I am calling for an end to excellence and effort in all areas of daily life.

I argue is that brilliance in everything is not only something that is nearly impossible to achieve, but is to be avoided, as it dilutes us from our true passions, where we should place most of our energy.

Sometimes the basic effort is good enough. It is hard enough to find our true calling in life, but when we do, we need to have the energy reserves to dedicate it with our best selves. Feeling pulled in multiple directions from all of the other nonsense of our daily lives only serves to take us away from what matters to us the most.

I argue that we need to phone in all but the most valuable things in our lives. For me, that is my friends and family, my health, and my writing. For all the rest, a basic effort is good enough.

As long as the garbage was taken out, my house didn’t have a mysterious odor, there was some food in the house, and some dishes were washed, I was good. To hell with what anyone else thought because pleasing others was probably what was always at the root of it all, to begin with.

My house has Wal-Mart clearance sale decorations, most dinners came from the microwave, and I run Saturday errands in an old t-shirt and flip flops, knowing all the while that I was saving my most focused energy for what matters the most to me.

Having a dirty car for two weeks after the last dust storm, some extra pounds around my midsection, and junky closets became my new mantra. 

I have phoned it in on life's most superfluous activities, doing nothing more than the bare minimum, leaving my best self for what truly matters.   

In the end, I believe our time is finite and fragile. We only have so many hours to devote to the things that matter to us the most. Trying to do everything well all of the time, only takes those hours away from the things that we value the most.

For those things, I give myself my purest and most authentic self. On all the rest, only the most basic effort is not only good enough but what should be celebrated.