Most people don’t put enough effort into their training.
In fact, pick whatever tasks you can think of, and you’ll find that most people partaking in that task just don’t put in real effort. For some reason, people just don’t want to do their jobs well, whether they be students, real estate agents, marketers, lawyers, or (god forbid) doctors.
The more interesting phenomenon however, is the fact that the best in the business aren’t just a little better and put in a little more effort; the best are way better and put in tons more effort.
The average wanna-be guitarist puts in 1 hour and thinks he/she is doing a great job. The elite guitarist has put in 4 hours a day, 10 years in a row, and thinks he/she needs to do more. The same is true of the best mathematicians, programmers, entrepreneurs, etc
This is just as obvious when it comes to physical activity. It’s not uncommon to find beginners who have pathetic exercise form, don’t put any effort into work sets, and then quit at the slightest hint of soreness, never to return to training. In fact, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that most people don’t really like exercise.
But then you’ve also got the psychotic athletes who want to be trained into the ground, who enjoy the vomit-inducing workouts, and are just plain suckers for punishment.
While training like a maniac is as bad as (or worse than) training like a sissy, the dedication to the task at hand of these athletes leaves something to be gained.
To be fair, most people do put in some effort, but no where near the level of dedication put in by the best. I think this is partly because of the fact that it’s easy to find someone worst off than you; ergo, you’re putting in more effort than someone else.
Therein lies the first step: Only ever compare yourself to yourself.
I’ll admit though, my statements may be unfair because firstly, the word ‘most’ means >50%, and most people are just trying something for the heck of it, so it’s obvious you’ll find lots of people who suck. But more importantly, is the strange phenomenon that the best in the business tend to lay low and forge ahead in silence.
That’s why you see and hear the “overnight success” stories popping up again and again. But it’s just that there was nothing interesting to talk about until the person actually did something really great. And doing something really great takes the time and effort, which to the outside observer, is like watching paint dry.
But the great thing is, that the best often don’t explicitly avoid telling anyone about their efforts like it’s some evil underground scheme; they’re simply too absorbed with the task at hand and/or don’t feel like there’s anything worth showing yet.
What that means is that if you approach such people, they’d often be quite open about sharing their experiences.
So talk to people like that. Not when they’re engaged in their activity (eg: during a workout), but take some time before or after to bring up a friendly conversation. You’ll learn something. You’ll learn about what drives them, and I think the most important thing to be gained is:
Use it to spur your motivation onward and prove me wrong; show us what you’ve got. Actually, no. Show yourself what you’ve got.
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