My friend Harry had a bumpy Spring Break. After a year of being remarried, he decided it was time for a family project. Harry opened the garage door one morning and enthusiastically announced, “Everything goes on the driveway, and nothing goes back in unless it has a home!”
That’s a great spring cleaning task—on paper. But then reality kicked in.
The eye rolls from his teenage stepkids started immediately. His wife tried to be optimistic, hoping four people working together could quickly punch out the job. But they were nowhere near finished when lunchtime rolled around. And even Harry got a little antsy when sunny skies appeared and it hit 60 degrees for the first time in Seattle. Suddenly, his buddy’s text to meet up at the golf driving range looked much more appealing than a dusty garage.
As you can guess, four cranky people + a sunny day is hardly a formula for success. After filling their recycle bin, they pushed everything back in and called it quits.
Attempting an extreme makeover at home is a funny story, but do you find yourself running into the same roadblock professionally? For instance, do you try to accomplish too much in a single sitting? Or are you in an endless loop where you start, stop, then feel guilty? Join the club!
Here’s the alternative: Stop pursuing perfection and start chasing steady progress. Whittle your too-high expectations down to keywords like “reasonable,” “practical,” and “attainable.” Let’s meet someone whose steady progress has started a movement.
Curtis Jenkins has changed many lives, but his results didn’t begin with a million social media followers. Instead, he started one kid at a time, driving his school bus.
He slowly got to know each child. Then he assigned jobs ranging from greeter to “police officer,” who would keep order. Finally, he would remind them, “We’re going to care about each other and love everybody—right?”
Soon, the word got out about Curtis’ community. Now he’s a public speaker and trainer, teaching others how to combine soft skills like authenticity, communication, and creativity to make a difference.
When fifth grader Ethan mentioned that he was the father he always wanted, Jenkins said, “That’s the paycheck right there. If I can get that, you can keep the money.”
In the April series, Spring Clean Your People Skills, we’re talking about clearing roadblocks that will get in the way of your professional success. Setting impossible standards is one of those roadblocks. However, the case study shows how practicing fundamentals—like showing up—is the solution.
When you’re tired or frustrated with your progress, reset with the “rule of thirds.” Olympic track star Alexi Pappas learned this idea from a coach. He helped her shake off a bad workout by saying, “When you’re chasing a dream or doing anything hard, you’re meant to feel good 1/3 of the time, OK 1/3 of the time, and crappy 1/3 of the time. If the ratio is roughly in that range, then you’re doing fine.”
So, using the rule of thirds framework, here’s an easy pop quiz. It will give you immediate gratification, even if your skills feel a little rusty:
* Feeling Great: Name a project where you killed it and were proud of what you accomplished and how you related to others;
* Feeling OK: Name a project where you could have quit, but kept road testing concepts; and
* Feeling Wiser: Name a situation that didn’t turn out as you hoped, but you walked away wiser and more resilient.
* And your AI prompt is: Act as a career coach and give me a pep talk about the benefits of using grit.
Sporadic efforts and uneven results are normal (and something everyone hates to admit). So, spring clean the idea that the only outcome worth having is an extreme makeover—that kind of mindset adds unnecessary pressure and stress.
Instead of straining or perfectionism, envision how great you’ll feel when you look back in 6 months, a year, or 5 years, and can articulate how much you’ve learned and grown. You’re on a long, rewarding journey—pace yourself.