Who sold us all on this toxic belief?
At this point, it doesn't really matter who's to blame. What matters is that we free ourselves from incredibly damaging cultural values. Hard work is a positive value. Being productive and producing quality are positive values. Giving our all to every task is not.
First of all, giving 110% is quite literally impossible. To give 100% is to give everything you have. No one can give more than they have. If you have 24 hours in a day, you can't give 26.4 hours in a day. If you acknowledge that you can only give 100%, you can certainly choose to devote that 100% as you deem most appropriate, but it is equally impossible to give 100% to any one task. In order to not pass out or fall down dead, you must devote a certain percentage of your time and energy to sleeping and eating. If you sleep the recommended 8 hours per night, you are giving approximately 33% to essential recovery time for your mind and body. With the remaining 2/3 of our time, most of don't want to devote every minute to one single task. There are people we want to spend time with, hobbies that we want to devote time too, and let's not forget about the jobs we have to go to. If I give my job 66%, I leave no time or energy for the people, places, and activities that bring joy into my life.
I propose giving a maximum of 20% to any one area of life. When I'm at work, I can give 20% and make the most of that 20% by working hard and producing quality work. The rest of my 100%, though, needs to be devoted to self-care, investing in relationships with people who matter to me, and participating in activities that bring peace and joy into my life.
The world can take its 110% somewhere else. I value myself too much to give my all.
