"Modifications are signs of wisdom, not weakness."
— Caesar Barajas, Yoga Teacher
If you're competitive like me, you're probably familiar with the feeling that, if you're not going all out, you're not really going at all.
And if you're not competitive? Well, just know that the other half of us are racing you as we walk down the sidewalk.
Going all out all the time is a good way to get hurt or burn out—whether we're talking yoga, running, weightlifting, poker, knitting, playing piano, or—of course—business. Most days, you need to regulate and enjoy a smooth 60-70% burn instead of constantly going for 100% effort.
And some days, you adjust further.
You make a modification.
You recognize that doing something well is more important than going all out. You recognize that taking the big idea and doing it in a small way is better than not doing anything with the idea at all.
In yoga, a modification is a change to the prescribed pose that makes it more accessible for people who are less experienced, have less range of motion, or have less strength. It's a way of making the pose more effective and efficient for your specific body.
It's tempting to think that when you take a modification, you're not as good as you should be. But that's hardly the case! Yoga teaches that modifications are just as good, valuable, and worthy as any other pose.
Modifications aren't an invitation to judgement. They're an invitation to participation and belonging. Modifications call us forward—they don't hold us back.
In business, we're invited to take modifications all the time. We can choose a different path to our desired outcome. We can set up a system to work with our strengths instead of getting hung up on our weakness. We can adjust a plan so that we can keep working on a project when new constraints present themselves.
Unfortunately, it's very easy to think that these modifications mean we're not up for the task. Worse, you can refuse a modification in an attempt to prove to yourself you can do it the way it's "supposed" to be done.
Today, the goal is to seek out modifications and embrace them.
You're resetting your expectations and finding a way to move forward that really works for you.
Consider anywhere you're feeling friction with your business. Maybe things just aren't humming along the way you wish they would. Maybe you feel like you're struggling on a particular project. Maybe you're bumping up against some serious resistance.
Then, examine your options. There's always another way to do something that matters. There's always a new path you could take or an adjustment to make to the system.