I attended a talk given by a Buddhist monk named Ajahn Brahm about a year ago. He said that 70% is always good enough. The reasoning goes that if you strive for

I attended a talk given by a Buddhist monk named Ajahn Brahm about a year ago. He said that 70% is always good enough. The reasoning goes that if you strive for 100% (or 110%, like some brag about doing) you will very often disappoint yourself (as well as those around you). If you go for 50%, you won't be motivated enough. So 70% seems about right. (There is a Youtube video of him talking about this subject [1].) There is tendency today that everybody wants to accomplish so much. I know this from myself: Compared with many of my friends, I have accomplished quite a lot - but it doesn't satisfy me, I need more to be happy. I agree with the author that we should focus more on just being. Because, if you think of it, what happens when you have accomplished whatever you had aimed for? It feels great... for a little while. Then, life is back to normal. We often believe the fallacy that happiness is available somewhere in the future, not here and now, and once we get this or that - THEN we will be happy[2]. And so you risk rigging your life in order to always reach for the next mountain top you have in sight, thinking that it's the final one. An Australian nurse interviewed people on their death bed about their regrets in life[3]. The second biggest regret was that people had worked too hard. Think about the real motives for what you do: If you do something to prove yourself for others (e.g. fame and glory), you're fooling yourself. First of all because it will most likely not make you happy, second because you will be forgotten anyway (especially today when everybody claims their 15 minutes of fame). If you strive for something because you think it will make you more happy, you are fooling yourself to believe that happiness is somewhere in the future and not available now. On the other hand, if the road is the goal, you are more likely rigging your life for lasting happiness. In the end, what is the use of accomplishing things if you are, and continue to be, unhappy? [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6k6DMp1TxQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6k6DMp1TxQ [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixRISCK7pmE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixRISCK7pmE [3] http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/feb/01/top-five-regrets-of-the-dying http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/feb/01/top-five-...