The truth about half-assing

Sometimes there is huge joy to be found in the rewarding experience of mastery and excellence.

NAILING that recipe. SMASHING that test result.

But also ... someone I love just said 'I don't like half-assing things' in a FB post.

And that really pinged for me.

I went to a boarding school which had a strict 'always do a thing perfectly or don't bother' kind of policy. It wasn’t the fun kind you get in kids’ books - it was more Jane Eyre than Harry Potter. 😬

In my last year, the headmistress (yes, that was her title and she will never be anything else in my mind) told me I would never amount to anything.

So yeah, I have that whole 'don't like half-assing things' DEEP in my wiring.

And I bet maybe you do too.

The piece that helps me?

Remembering that actually, the whole 'full ass vs half ass' thing is a product of early capitalism, aka the industrial revolution - where you were either one of the very rare factory owners, or you were a worker.

And if you were a worker, you only counted if you showed up and did a full day's work.

You only got paid for a full day's work.

If you got injured at work, you didn't just lose a day's pay.

You'd potentially be fined if they had to stop the machines to pull you out; and you might even be expected to help pay to repair the machine for the folly of falling into it in the first place (and no, they generally didn’t have guard rails and the things we now take for granted).

Fast forward through a few centuries of increasingly extreme capitalism plus the patriarchy BS, and we all have a LOT of that wiring in our heads.

Do it properly, or it doesn't count AT ALL.

I call BULLSHIT on that.

Half-assing is perfectly fine, for many things.

If I’m honest, I probably don't want my brain surgeon or flight controller to half-ass things. And we're all witness to what happens when journalism half-asses things. 😬

But there are so many things where half-assing is to be celebrated, not condemned - working out, prepping meals, writing a blog post, doing a grocery run.

Half-assing is very often the only thing that gets us moving forward, because perfection can so easily keep us stuck.

And - bonus! - when you ignore the brain weasels and their chorus of ‘ooooh, you have to do it properly’, you are actively challenging and disrupting those old systems in your unconscious mind.

Which I think is pretty grand.

The ability to half-ass something - and the skill to know when to do it - is a superpower.

So next time you feel the urge to condemn yourself for a "half-assed" job, here's my recommendation.

Take a deep breath, put your shoulders back, stick your chest out, and in a nice clear voice say "screw it - I did enough!"