Most people can probably relate to this.
In 7th grade, my science teacher was Mr. Baxter. Good guy, decent sense of humor, and a big fan of showing movies in class, at least once a week. The rumor was that he bartended at night and used movie days to catch up on sleep. I never saw him pouring drinks, but I did catch him napping more than once.
One thing I remember clearly: for three tests in a row, I got a 99% in his class. Not bad, right? The missing point was always something minor—usually a misspelling. The first time, I was proud. The second time, a little annoyed. By the third, I was grumbling to friends that Mr. Baxter was being a “stickler” (or maybe something a little more colorful from my 7th grade vocabulary).
On the fourth test, I locked in. I reviewed every answer like it was under a microscope. And finally! I got my 100%. I celebrated with a triumphant “YES!”.
It wasn’t until later that I really took stock of what had happened. That science class was already my best grade. While I was obsessing over a single point in my strongest subject, I wasn’t giving that same energy to the classes where I wasn’t doing as well. I had zoomed in on a tiny problem that didn’t matter all that much and used it to distract myself from bigger ones that did.
It’s funny how that pattern doesn’t always leave us in middle school.
There are times when it feels easier to fixate on something small that’s just outside of our control than to focus on something bigger that’s fully within it. Chasing down that last one percent in a high-performing area can feel noble, like we’re just committed to excellence. But sometimes it’s just a form of avoidance.
We all have those parts of life where we’re already getting a 99%. Absolutely killing it! Trying to eke out the final percent might feel worthwhile, and maybe it is. But it’s worth asking whether that same time and focus would make a bigger difference somewhere else—maybe in a place you’ve been quietly neglecting. The tricky part, of course, is admitting that it’s not going so well. And let’s be honest, it’s easier to pat ourselves on the back for our success than to own up to our blind spots.
That doesn’t mean we stop striving. It just means we take a moment to look at the whole picture. Take pride in what’s going well. Feel good about that 99%. But don’t let that pride stop you from doing the harder, quieter work of being honest about where you’re not doing so great and finding a way to improve.
Go kick ass in as many directions as possible.
Pete
PS Anyone who noticed that the photo is a completely doctored Spanish test with no answers and 99% on the line for the date, you get extra credit! HAHA
I’ve been extremely fortunate through the years to have won some medals and trophies, either individually or as part of a collective. Most of them are in a box in my basement or in a display case that I don’t have direct access to. Medals and trophies are all pretty similar. They usually have a name of an individual or group, a year and the indication of some accomplishment. As I was thinking about the trophies that teams and individuals are going to reach for this season, I realized that trophies are the tombstones of our past accomplishments.
We live in a modern world but humans are prehistoric creatures. Obviously we have acquired skills and knowledge that our ancestors did not have. So I am not suggesting that we are on their level in that respect but I do want to point out that we are using the same hardware. The same brain structure that caused us to run from saber-toothed tigers is now tasked with managing a world that moves faster than we were intended to go. We’re overwhelmed and stressed because we created an environment that stresses and overwhelms our prehistoric brains. This is not a blog to suggest that we go back to living in caves. Rather it is intended to point out the fact that there are limits on our bandwidth, therefore we must manage ourselves so the prehistoric brain does not go into overload.
George Costanza would not accept it! Upon being dumped by a significant other, she tried to employ the most common of breakup cushioning. “It’s not you! It’s me!” This is an age old ploy to deflect a super direct hit to the ego of the person being dumped. Rather than telling the person the real reasons that they no longer want to be with you, the softener is used. While it may cushion the short term blow, it does nothing for the long term development of the person as a viable mate. Costanza, as usual, is an outlier in his stance on “It’s not you! It’s me!” He doesn’t want to hear it. He wants to know that it is his fault that the relationship is falling apart. While a little aggressive in his approach, maybe it’s time to learn from George.
During my sophomore year of college, my two younger brothers were in high school together. One was a senior and the other was a freshman. At one point during the school year, there were “Drug sniffing” dogs brought in to do a search of the school. Students stayed in their classes while the school was swept. If your locker was tagged, you were supposed to report to the office in order to have your locker searched. My freshman brother’s locker had a tag on it. Completely panicked, he went and found his senior brother. One question from the senior brother, “Do you have any drugs in your locker?” The response was “no”. The senior brother went straight to the office and reported that his locker had been tagged. He brought the officials to the locker for it to be searched. The school officials questioned whether this was really his locker or not because it was in a freshman hallway. My brother was adamant! This is my locker! Upon being opened and searched, the locker did not contain any drugs. There was however a half eaten box of crackers at the bottom which the dog must have smelled. I wasn’t there and no one has discussed that incident for years but I still get choked up when thinking about it.
This line is from the quite ridiculous but still entertaining Pee Wee’s Big Adventure. And it was co-opted by the band The Get Up Kids as a song title in the 90’s. The song outlines one perspective of a short term love affair where the singer refuses to give the relationship a chance. In his own words, “because I’m afraid to try.” It’s an old story that probably precedes Danny Zuko in Grease. Boy meets girl. Boy likes girls. Boy wants to leave while things are still fun and casual because a relationship is just too much work.
This story comes directly from a dream that I just had. I was brought in to help a javelin thrower with some issues that he was having. Despite his great potential that everyone could see, he was underachieving and plagued by injuries. As we started to talk about his issues, we walking near a lake. He was confused and upset by all of the issues that he was having. As he talked, he picked up a stone and hurled it into the lake. His words became more heated as he described his disappointment in his lack of progress. Another stone farther into the lake. Then his disappointment turned to anger as he focused in on how many opportunities he’d wasted. Stone lake farther. In a crescendo of shouts and rage, he picked up a rock larger than all of the stones that he’d hurled so far. With three steps forward and a shout of “why?”, he threw the rock as far as he could but it did not reach the water. He winced slightly in pain and stared at his failed effort. I woke up.
Man has created several “boxes” to travel in. They have been created to make certain types of travel quicker and safer. The most literal box is the elevator. It makes travel between floors of a building faster. In the beginning there was danger of cables breaking or other malfunctions but elevators have become ever faster and safer over the years. We have several other boxes, which gain in speed and safety as we pass through time: the car, the train, the airplane and the list goes on. Traveling in boxes has become a way of life for most people. We depend upon them heavily.
Huryk Unlimited 