I saw an interesting clip the other day of Amy Poehler interviewing Rashida Jones on her podcast, talking about a subject near and dear to many readers’ hearts: giving less than your best. Let’s discuss… at a certain point in life have you lowered your own personal standards (or your effort) for your job or other aspects of your life? Do you still feel like you’re giving more than most people?
Here’s a link to the episode on Spotify (and a transcript):
Amy Poehler: One of the reasons why I want to do this podcast is, as I’ve watched so many men do the bare minimum.
Rashida Jones: Is this, is this your bare minimum?
Amy Poehler: I’m truly giving 25%, which is, for most people, is 75%. But it’s like, enough is enough. Enough with the 100%. Sure. And enough with improving ourselves and listening to stuff about how we’re supposed to get better and better and better.
I’ve seen a lot of readers make similar comments over the years, and I totally agree. There were a few moments in my life when I realized I was doing way more than I needed to, and consciously dialed back my effort. (I actually remember thinking during my second year at the law firm: This is a marathon, not a sprint… don’t burn out.)
I also totally agree with Poehler’s frustration and exhaustion at the constant pressure to improve ourselves. Gosh, society has a lot of suggestions for how women could be better! I love that women are pushing back with ideas like the “Don’t Care Club” and our general comfort with the phrase “zero f*cks given.”
Questions for today:
Have you ever consciously decided to lower your standards (or lower your effort) — at work, at home, or elsewhere in your life? Was there a particular moment that made you realize you were doing too much?
Do you feel like your 25% is still someone else’s 75%? Or have you discovered that some of the things you used to put so much effort into didn’t actually matter?
And what about the constant pressure to improve ourselves? Are you still interested in becoming a better version of yourself, or have you stopped feeling like everything about you needs to be optimized?
Psst: In case you missed it, Poehler’s Good Hang won the first-ever Golden Globe for Best Podcast earlier this year! You can watch her acceptance speech here.
Stock photo via Pexels / Pavel Danilyuk.
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