Too Fast or Too Perfect?

I've been doing CrossFit for a while now, and before a recent Workout of the Day (WOD) our instructor (Jeff Tincher) drew 3 Christmas trees on the white board:

If you go Too Fast, you lose precision or range of motion in your exercises, and if you go Too Slow (being fastidious about technique), you'll sacrifice intensity, fitness, and not be competitive. The idea isn't new, but I thought it was interesting to discuss both in the area of fitness and personal productivity.

As an ambitious person and athlete, I want to do it with perfect form AND quickly (and in my mind, as an overachiever, I believe I can excel on both fronts). However, in discussing the concept of "Too Fast, Too Slow" with a fellow rugby coach, my thinking changed.

He drew the parallel to players running through drills - if players are doing the drill “perfectly” then they’re not being sufficiently challenged - either they’re not working hard enough or not learning enough. If players are dropping balls and executing sloppily, it means the drill might be too hard. Somewhere in the middle is the sweet spot where players/students/people are sufficiently challenged that they won't get everything right. I had never thought of it like that.

So, looking back at my I-can-do-it-fast-AND-perfectly attitude, I realize that maybe I should be pushing myself to a higher threshold until I'm not doing it perfectly (whether it's in fitness, professional development, intellectual pursuits, hobbies, etc.). While it might be a little clumsy at first, the body and mind are quick to adapt, so we can begin to feel comfortable at this even-higher level.

It's through challenges that we learn most effectively. Are we too comfortable? What are we doing "too perfectly"?

Incremental Improvement, Kaizen (Are You Better Than Yesterday?)

Are You Better Than Yesterday? from the blog of Tim Ferris (author of The 4-Hour Work Week):

"When you’re trying to become more respected in your workplace or be healthier, the individual improvements you make each day often won’t lead directly to tangible results. This is, as we saw before, the reason big goals like these become so demotivating. So, for most of the big, difficult goals you’re striving for, it’s important to think not about getting closer each day to the goal, but rather, to think about doing better in your efforts toward that goal than yesterday.

I can’t, for example, guarantee that I’ll be less fat today than yesterday, but I can control whether I do more today to lose weight. And if I do, I have a right to feel good about what I’ve done. This consistent, measurable improvement in my actions frees me from the cycle of guilt and procrastination that most of us are ultimately defeated by when we try to do Big Important Things.

You also need to be happy with small amounts of “better.” Writing one more test than you did yesterday is enough to get you closer to the goal of “being better about unit testing.” If you’re starting at zero, one additional test per day is a sustainable rate, and by the time you can no longer do better than yesterday, you’ll find that you’re now “better about unit testing” and you don’t need to keep making the same improvements. If, on the other hand, you decided to go from zero to fifty tests on the first day of your improvement plan, the first day would be hard, and the second day probably wouldn’t happen. So, make your improvements small and incremental but daily."

This is very similar to the idea of Kaizen - a Japanese philosophy that focuses on continuous improvement throughout all aspects of life.

Kaizen has also been adopted as a business philosophy, with Toyota being the most widely-recognized companies to successfully implement the approach, particularly for manufacturing (Toyota Production System) but across the company as well. Related business concepts include the Deming Cycle (PDCA), Lean Manufacturing, and Six-Sigma.

How can you apply this concept to your own personal development?

"Give it a try:

Make a list of the difficult, complex personal or professional improvements you’d like to make. It’s OK if you have a fairly long list. Now, for each item in the list, think about what you could do today to make yourself or that item better than yesterday. Tomorrow, look at the list again.

Was yesterday better than the day before? How can you make today better? Do it again the next day."

Stoicism: Personal Development and Entrepreneurship

Here's a great post on Stoicism by way of Tim Ferriss' blog and how it can be a very practical philosophy for personal development and entrepreneurship.

Here are the 3 key practical suggestions put forth by the author (Ryan Holiday, online strategist for American Apparel):

1. Practice Misfortune

“It is in times of security that the spirit should be preparing itself for difficult times; while fortune is bestowing favors on it is then is the time for it to be strengthened against her rebuffs.” -Seneca

Set aside a certain number of days each month to practice poverty. Take a little food, wear your worst clothes, get away from the comfort of your home and bed. Put yourself face to face with want, he said, you’ll ask yourself “Is this what I used to dread?”

2. Train Perception to Avoid Good and Bad

“Choose not to be harmed and you won’t feel harmed. Don’t feel harmed and you haven’t been.” -Marcus Aurelius

The Stoics had an exercise called Turning the Obstacle Upside Down...If you can properly turn a problem upside down, every “bad” becomes a new source of good....Suppose for a second that you are trying to help someone and they respond by being surly or unwilling to cooperate. Instead of making your life more difficult, the exercise says, they’re actually directing you towards new virtues; for example, patience or understanding. Or, the death of someone close to you; a chance to show fortitude.

3. Remember - It's All Ephemeral

“Alexander the Great and his mule driver both died and the same thing happened to both.” -Marcus Aurelius

Alexander the Great conquered the known world and had cities named in his honor. This is common knowledge....Stoics would also point out that, once while drunk, Alexander got into a fight with his dearest friend, Cleitus, and accidentally killed him....Is this the mark of a successful life? From a personal standpoint, it matters little if your name is emblazoned on a map if you lose perspective and hurt those around you.

Remember that achievements can be ephemeral, and that your possession of them is for just an instant. Learn from Alexander’s mistake. Be humble and honest and aware. That is something you can have every single day of your life.

"As an entrepreneur you can see how practicing misfortune makes you stronger in the face of adversity; how flipping an obstacle upside down turns problems into opportunities; and how remembering how small you are keeps your ego manageable and in perspective. Ultimately, that’s what Stoicism is about. It’s not some systematic discussion of why or how the world exists. It is a series of reminders, tips and aids for living a good life."

***

As I read the article, I thought Stoicism might be too staid and staunch of an approach for me. I believe the pursuit of happiness is a worthwhile goal and that creating joy and fulfillment in everyday life is important, so I was relieved to find that these two ideals are not necessarily in conflict.

"Stoicism teaches the development of self-control and fortitude as a means of overcoming destructive emotions; the philosophy holds that becoming a clear and unbiased thinker allows one to understand the universal reason." - (Stoicism, Wikipedia)

A line in the article mentioned above reconciled both views on life and put them on the same side of the coin:

"You can be a Stoic, and joke around and have a happy life surrounded by what’s valuable to you. In fact, that’s the ultimate goal."

Changing Yourself First

I came across this common saying today that made me think about all those times I've tried to change situations or other people with very little success:

"The only person you can really change is yourself"

Somewhat related to this idea is Gandhi's popular quote:

"Be the change you wish to see in the world"

Together these quotes emphasize the importance of the individual and the change that happens on the personal level. As my mom always said, "Don't worry about what everyone around you is doing, just worry about yourself."

Do you find that you're asking others to change, but not seeing the changes you can make in your own life? How can you can rethink your attitude or actions so you can be happier with your situation and the people around you? In what ways can YOU grow, learn, and develop to make the most of who you are?

You've probably thought about these things already, but if you'd like to spend some dedicated time on personal development, send me an email at leeknight@overachievercoach.com and we can set you up with some one-on-one coaching to help you be the best you can be!

Influential Books

Those of you who know me can attest to the fact that I'm always reading, and usually several books at once. I like books because they give you access to wisdom or perspectives that you otherwise wouldn't come into contact with. It's like having your own personal tutor or sitting in on a great lecture, but on your own time.

Eventually, I'd like to post summaries so you can get the big ideas without having to read them. More importantly, I'd like to save you frustration by separating the wheat from the chaff (there are a ton of really bad books out there in the leadership/ personal development section).

I wanted to kick it off with a list of the books that I thought were great and have been influential in my journey to "figure things out". They're a mix of business books, leadership books, and books on personal development. Here they are in no particular order:

• Integrity, by Dr. Henry Cloud


• The Art of Possibility, by Benjamin Zander


• Presence, by Peter Senge


• What Color is Your Parachute?, by Richard Bolles


• Are You Ready to Succeed?, by Srikumar Rao


• On Becoming a Leader, by Warren Bennis


• The Fifth Discipline, by Peter Senge


• Winning, by Jack Welch


• Life Strategies, by Phillip McGraw


• One From Many, by Dee Hock


• Finding Flow, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi


• Change or Die, by Alan Deutschman


• Fish! (series), by Stephen Lundin and John Christensen


• Happiness, by Matthieu Ricard


• True Love, Thich Nhat Hanh


• How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie


• Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand

This is just a condensed list of past books I'd recommend, either for people in the business world or for those figuring out their lives (you can read the descriptions and pick the most relevant). There are a lot more out there with great bits and pieces, so look for more books lists and summaries to come!

• What books have influenced you along the way? Anything you can recommend to add to my future reading list?