100%

The idea of occasionally making exceptions for our principles sounds perfectly reasonable and agreeable on its face, but can actually be quite insidious in practice.?

In a 2016 panel at Startup Grind, Clayton Christensen distilled the crux of the issue:

“…my whole life has been filled with an unending stream of extenuating circumstances. And if I had said ‘just this once’, the next time it occurred and the next time it’s easier and easier.?

…I decided it is easier to hold to our principles 100% of our time, than it is 98% of the time.”?

What the seemingly harmless 2% difference ends up doing is it opens a never-ending, tiring negotiation with yourself about whether an exception is called for.?

100% commitment might seem like the more hard-headed and challenging option of the two but, as Christensen astutely observed, it may very well be just the opposite.?

The Daily Spark exists for two reasons:

1. To document one idea every day that I've found helpful in my life.
2. To inspire you to discover what matters most and to take action towards it.

Reading subscription: LinkedIn, Substack,?and Medium.

Audio subscription: Spotify, Anchor, Pocket Casts, Breaker, Google Podcasts, and RadioPublic.

About me:

I'm a second-generation Taiwanese American trying to find life’s greatest sources of meaning and make the most out of it.