Olympic dreams and finely oiled machines

Do the best you can.

Give one hundred percent.

Try as hard as possible to achieve something.

This advice is well intentioned. The world is encouraging us to strive for excellence.

But fundamentally, there are problems with the idea of doing your best.

First of all, best is subjective. It differs from person to person. There is no agreed upon standard for what the word best means, so that makes it tough to gauge our performance.

Many times our parents, teachers, bosses and spouses tell us, do your best, but what they really mean is, do their best. They’re just projecting their own autobiography onto a totally different motivational system.

Secondly, what if we don’t know what our best looks like? Most people are poor historians and even poorer predictors of the future. Our unreliable, imperfect brains may not understand the true nature of our best.

Anytime we’re encouraged to do our best, we’re being asked to hit an invisible target. This is stressful and confusing.

For example, think about time when you were young and failed your test and told your parents, I did my best.

Did you? Or were you just afraid of the consequence of disappointing authority figures, so you just said you did?

Personally, I always liked claiming to have done my best as a defense mechanism to avoid conflict. I sought approval and validation and felt pressure to succeed, so I just said that I did my best to deflect attention from my actual low level of motivation.

Got my parents off my back. No accountability needed.

Third, people change. Life is dynamic. Goals and priorities shift. What we considered to be our best a year ago, may be different than what our best is today.

And that standard will differ from what our best is six months from now. We have to account for variable change. We have to encourage flexibility and adaptably for the evolving nature of our personalities and circumstances.

Fourth, in any given situation, there are constraints that make doing our best unattainable. From time to resources to energy to how much sleep we’ve had to how cold it is outside, we can’t control all of the obstacles that stand in the way of optimal performance.

Think of all the times you showed up to work and thought to yourself, shit, I couldn’t give my best today, even if I wanted to. People put so much pressure on themselves and each other to consistently meet that expectation, and it’s both unrealistic and uncompassionate.

Another objection to doing your best. It encourages the perfectionistic mindset. Do you realize how paralyzing and exhausting it is to always have to be at the top of your game?

We’re not olympic athletes here. Most of us are not finely oiled machines. Just regular people. Our best may be achievable in specific moments when it really counts, but best isn’t sustainable over the long term.

That’s where burnout comes from. Nobody puts up tens on the board in every race. Truth is, while best is an admirable ideal, it’s not a necessary goal.

One of the liberating realizations of life is, much of the time, we don’t actually need to do our best. We need to do what’s required in the moment. A minimum level of effort is often enough. Instead of giving a hundred percent, sixty percent gets the job done. And the funny thing, nobody seems to notice. Or if they do notice, they don’t care. Because they’re not always doing their best either. The sooner we realize that, the more optimized our effort gets, and the more fulfilled we become.

Here’s my final issue with doing our best.

It promotes the concept of working hard, but not working smart. The focus should not solely be on the quantity of effort, but also the quality of results.

Contrary to popular conditioning, there’s no relationship between activity and outcome. If we spend eight hours doing our best, but on the wrong work, then we have labored in vain. Whereas if we show up do a half assed job, but we channel that mediocrity into a high leverage activity that moves the needle, then best becomes irrelevant.

In short, doing our best isn’t always the best.

Now, I’m not trying to downplay the importance of building a strong work ethic. I do believe diligence has moral benefit. There is inherent virtue in achieving. That’s how real character is built.

My belief is, this isn’t a motivation problem, it’s a marketing one.

Human beings have been using the same slogan for hundreds, if not thousands of years.

Do your best.

This common expression, or some variation thereof, is found in ancient wisdom, holy scriptures and philosophical teachings from virtually every culture and time period. There’s no distinct origin point of the expression, but it’s been passed down through enough generations, that it’s now part and parcel of our collective wisdom.

Do your best.

And frankly, what’s not to like? It has universal appeal. It’s inclusive and relatable. The positive connotation is a motivational and uplifting message. The phrase implies a sense of aspiration. It’s action oriented and timeless.

It’s also short and memorable, as good slogans should be.

Do your best.

Three words, three syllables, done and done.

Just say that to people and you’re off the hook from doing any real managing, parenting or leading.

Of course, the irony is, do your best isn’t the best we can do. We have other options.

Thankfully, my extensive experience as an entrepreneur, copywriter, marketer and innovator qualifies me to lead this rebranding effort.

Let’s begin by clarifying the sentiment, before we start brainstorming the slogan. What’s this whole, do your best, thing about? It’s about striving to grow, but also navigating life’s constraints effectively. It’s about putting in the work, but also embracing sustainable efforts. And it’s about achieving meaningful things, but also having compassion for our own humanity along the way.

Got it. Now that we’re aligned on the big picture, let’s talk tactical.

Do your best begs a modern makeover to align with the complexities of contemporary existence. In order to roll out a successful public relations effort, we need a unifying idea to serve as the organizing principle of the campaign.

Here is a list of potential taglines we can workshop with our focus groups.

Act in accordance.
Shape as required.
Adapt as needed.
Align with necessity.
Let moments mandate.

Notice how all these new expressions are each timeless, encouraging and action oriented. They’re all simple, clear, specific yet adaptable, and they eliminate subjectivity.

Once we pick from one of those mantras, we should stage a global event. A farewell gala in which we give a eulogy for the phrase, do you best. This public funeral will bid adieu to our worn out and unrealistic mantra.

Here’s how the procession will go.

The live broadcast is streamed on all major platforms across hundreds of countries worldwide. Audiences will watch oversized letters spelling out the phrase, do your best, literally being lowered by a crane into a burial plot for its final resting place. Springsteen will deliver the eulogy, sharing the limitations of the do your best mindset and the need for a more adaptive approach to success.

Attendees can place farewell notes, flowers, or symbolic objects into the casket as a gesture of closure. Bruce then concludes the burial ceremony with a closing hymnal, as symbolic action that represents the transition from the old mindset to the new.

Here are the lyrics to his song.

Farewell to the best we thought we knew.
In the graveyard of ideals, we bury you.
No more striving for an invisible crest.
Earn your final dream, farewell to best.

See the perfectionist’s crown, the anchor of lead.
Paralysis grips, exhaustion widespread.
Olympic dreams and finely oiled machines
They wither and rust, crumbling to smithereens.

The words are spoken, the burial is done.
A new mantra rises with the morning sun.
Striving for growth, navigating the rest.
In the dust settles the echo, farewell to best.

Remember, striving for excellence matters, but the complexities of contemporary existence call for a new language of motivation.

Each of us should learn how to act in accordance, shape as required, adapt as needed, align with necessity, and let moments mandate.

I hope my ideas have resonated with you today.

And if not, well, sorry, I did my best.

How good are you at knowing how much effort you need to put forth?