How to Stay Focused on Your Goals When You Are Worn Out
We all have goals and dreams, but it can be difficult to stick with
them. Each 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.” Or, they will say, “I struggle with mental endurance. I
get started but I can’t seem to follow through and stay focused for
very long.”
Don’t worry. I’m just as guilty of this as anyone else. For example,
I’ll start one project, work on it for a little bit, then lose focus and
try something else. And then I’ll lose focus on my new goal and try
something else. And on and on. When everything is said and done, I’ve
stopped and started so many times that I never really made much
progress.
This problem reminds me of a lesson I learned one day…Maybe you have felt this way too
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. I had just finished my workout
when I asked him, “What’s the difference between the best athletes and
everyone else. What do the really successful people do that most people
don’t?”The Myth of Passion and Motivation
He briefly mentioned the things that you might expect. Genetics.
Luck. Talent. But then he said something I wasn’t expecting. “At some
point,” he said, “it comes down to who can handle the boredom of
training every day and doing the same lifts over and over and over
again.” That piece of advice surprised me because it’s a different way
of thinking about work ethic.
Most of the time people talk about getting motivated and “amped up”
to work on their goals. Whether it’s business or sports or art, you will
commonly hear people say things like, “it all comes down to having
enough passion.” As a result, I think many people get depressed when
they lose focus or motivation because they think that successful people
have some unstoppable passion and willpower that they seem to be
missing. But that’s exactly the opposite of what this coach was saying.
Instead, he was saying that really successful people feel the same
boredom and the same lack of motivation that everyone else feels. They
don’t have some magic pill that makes them feel ready and inspired every
day. But the difference is that the people who stick with their goals
don’t let their emotions determine their actions. Top performers still
find a way to show up, to work through the boredom, and to embrace the
daily practice that is required to achieve their goals.
According to him, it’s this ability to do the work when it’s not easy
that separates the top performers from everyone else. That’s
the difference between professionals and amateurs.
Working When Work Isn’t Easy
Anyone can work hard when they feel motivated.
When I was an athlete, I loved going to practice the week after a big
win. Who wouldn’t? Your coach is happy, your teammates are pumped up,
and you feel like you can beat anyone. As an entrepreneur, I love
working when customers are rolling in and things are going well. Getting
results has a way of propelling you forward.
But what about when you’re bored? What about when the work isn’t
easy? What about when it feels like nobody is paying attention or you’re
not getting the results you want? Are you willing to work through 10
years of silence?
It’s the ability to work when work isn’t easy that makes the difference.
It’s Not the Event, It’s the Process
All too often, we think our goals are all about the result. We see success as an event that can be achieved and completed.
Here are some common examples…
- Many people see health as an event: “If I just lose 20 pounds, then I’ll be in shape.”
- Many people see entrepreneurship as an event: “If we could get our business featured in the New York Times, then we’d be set.”
- Many people see art as an event: “If I could just get my work featured in a bigger gallery, then I’d have the credibility I need.”
Those are just a few of the many ways that we categorize success as a single event.
But if you look at the people who are consistently achieving their
goals, you start to realize that it’s not the events or the results that
make them different. It’s their commitment to the process. They fall in
love with the daily practice, not the individual event.
What’s funny, of course, is that this focus on the process is what will allow you to enjoy the results anyway…
If you want to be a great writer, then having a
best-selling book is wonderful. But the only way to reach that result is
to fall in love with the process of writing.
If you want the world to know about your business, then
it would be great to be featured in Forbes magazine. But the only way
to reach that result is to fall in love with the process of marketing.
If you want to be in the best shape of your life, then
losing 20 pounds might be necessary. But the only way to reach that
result is to fall in love with the process of eating healthy and
exercising consistently.
If you want to become significantly better at anything, you
have to fall in love with the process of doing it. You have to fall in
love with building the identity of someone who does the work, rather
than merely dreaming about the results that you want.
In other words…
Fall in love with boredom. Fall in love with repetition and practice.
Fall in love with the process of what you do and let the results take
care of themselves.