What 100% Effort Feels Like

Whenever I watch a team of athletes practice, I look at each individual on the field and ask myself a question. "Does this player know what 100% maximum effort feels like?"

In all honesty, most teams are not filled with a bunch of players who reach the 100% level every day. Most high school teams have maybe one or two kids that really get there. Great teams have found ways to get a majority of their players to the 100% level. Rarely do you ever see a team where every player reaches the 100% level.

I believe a lot of us "think" we are giving 100%, but in reality we have more left in the tank. We have more that we could give, if we were really being honest with ourselves. This is why, I think, some coaches will say things like, "I want you to give 110 percent!" But that is actually not possible, which makes it a ridiculous thing to say out loud.

I understand why coaches say "give 110%." It's because they want maximum effort, and when they look at your effort they know you have more in the tank even though you may feel like you are giving 100%. So, they say, in essence, give a little more than your "felt" 100%.

But reality is, 100% is the maximum. To expect to give 110% would be beyond your capacity. It would be impossible. Even giving 101% means that you are making an effort beyond your actual capacity. Some might argue that this figure of speech is justified as long as a player does indeed make a little more effort than what they believed was possible. Still, they are not giving more than 100% in that moment. If your effort output has increased, then you need to re-define what you initially thought was 100% and call it what it really was. You were only giving 90%.

Why does this semantics game matter, you might be wondering? First of all, I don't believe it's just a semantics game. Words matter. Words put thoughts in our minds, which turn into beliefs. And I am convinced that there are a lot of young athletes out there who BELIEVE they are giving 100% effort, and therefore anything more they give in a single moment feels like they are giving an "extra" effort. A one-time thing. An anomaly. A moment in a game or practice when they happened to give a little more than 100%.

But that's not true. What is true is that they have just gotten used to giving 90% most of the time, and any time they dig a little deeper and give a little more they think that's special.

It's not special. It's what giving 100% feels like. It's something that you actually have in you ALL THE TIME. You can perform at the 100% level all the time. It is possible. In fact, I would suggest that operating at the 100% level is actually less exhausting than operating at the 90% level. How so?

My wife and I will often go on a Keto diet plan, in which our goal is to eat ZERO sugars. Cut out sugar 100%. I will admit, she is much better at it than I am. When April says 100%, she means 100%. When we go out to eat, I will order a low carb meal, but I might have croutons with my Caesar salad (yes, breading is ultimately a sugar). When I ask April if she is going to eat her croutons, she always says, "Nope." She responds with ease and indifference. Some might think, man it must be hard for her to turn down bread and dessert all the time.

But if you ask her, it's not. And the reason why it is not hard for her is because she does it EVERY SINGLE TIME. She is ALL IN... 100%. And that is actually easier than operating on the 90% level.

It is more exhausting to live at the 90% level. How does that even make sense, Chris?!

Here's why. Because 90% effort consumes energy without producing optimal results. 90% effort is stressful, but less fulfilling. 90% effort will often make you feel like a failure when you actually are not. You haven't actually "failed," you just haven't fully committed. Which means you are falling short of your full potential.

Let me say that again. Putting 90% effort into something that is meaningful means that you are constantly falling short of your full potential in those endeavors.

Ask anyone who tries to go on a Keto diet plan. Doing it 90% of the time is MUCH harder than doing it 100% of the time. And of course, the results are going to be MUCH different as well. It's been said that even 99% is hard, but 100% is easy.

For athletes, when you decide to give 100% effort, it removes the guesswork. You no longer have to decide which aspect of practice is more important to work harder at. You just work as hard as you can all the time. That's 100%.

One obvious example of this for baseball and softball players is... running to first base. When you are a 90% effort person, you decide when to run hard and when not to run hard. On balls you hit in the gap, you assume right off the bat that you might be able to get a double, so you run as hard as you can to first base because you are thinking, "Get to second!"

But what about the ball that is hit directly at centerfield. It's most likely going to be a single. So, do you still run at 100% to first base? What about the ball that is popped up to the infield?

What about running on and off the field after three outs?

What about diving for balls during batting practice?

What about taking swings off the tee in practice or pregame?

What about playing catch before a game or at the beginning of practice?

You see, if the effort in any––and I mean ANY––of the above things, or countless other things that occur in practices and games, is less than 100%, then you are a 90% (or less) person. You don't truly know what it feels like to give 100%.

One. Hundred. Percent. Is all. Everything. All the time.

Now, think about your team. How many 100% players do you actually have? Can you think of someone who fits this description? It's all out, maximum effort, all the time. There is no speculation or question about when to turn it up. It's always up! 100% people don't have to determine which play or which task is important to give 100%. True 100% people just give it ALL THE TIME. It's easier, because there's no thinking involved. There's no, "should I or should I not?" There's no decisions to make. It's either 100% or die.

If you are a person who decides to give 100% at certain times, then you are a person who is not fulfilling your greatest potential.

Take the decision-making out of the equation. Remove the thinking. Just commit to give EVERYTHING. ALL the time. 100%. Live on the 100% level, and see what kind of difference it makes!