Who wouldn’t? Your coach is happy, your teammates are pumped up, and you feel like you can beat anyone. When I was an athlete, I loved going to practice the week after a big win.

Working When Work Isn’t EasyĪnyone can work hard when they feel motivated. That's the difference between professionals and amateurs. The difference is that they still find a way to show up despite the feelings of boredom.Īccording to him, it’s this ability to do the work when it’s not easy that separates the top performers from everyone else. But this coach was saying that really successful people feel the same lack of motivation as everyone else. Whether it’s business or sports or art, you hear people say things like, “It all comes down to passion.” Or, “You have to really want it.” As a result, many of us get depressed when we lose focus or motivation because we think that successful people have some bottomless reserve of passion. People talk about getting “amped up” to work on their goals. His answer surprised me because it’s a different way of thinking about work ethic. But then he said something I wasn’t expecting: “At some point it comes down to who can handle the boredom of training every day, doing the same lifts over and over and over.” He mentioned the factors you might expect: genetics, luck, talent. “What do the really successful people do that most don’t?” “What’s the difference between the best athletes and everyone else?” I asked. I introduced myself and we began talking about the process of improvement. On this particular day in the gym, there was a coach visiting who had worked with thousands of athletes over his long career, including some nationally-ranked athletes and Olympians. This problem reminds me of a lesson I learned while working out one day… When everything is said and done, I’ve stopped and started so many times that I never really made much progress. And then I'll lose focus on my new goal and try something else. I'm just as guilty of this as anyone else.įor example, I'll start one project, work on it for a little bit, then lose focus and try something else. I get started but I can’t seem to follow through and stay focused for very long.”ĭon't worry. Or, they will say, “I struggle with mental endurance. We all have goals and dreams, but it can be difficult to stay focused and stick with them.Įach week, I hear from people who say things like, “I start with good intentions, but I can't seem to maintain my consistency for a long period of time.” This article is an excerpt from Atomic Habits, my New York Times bestselling book.

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