Say YES to yourself.
Do you struggle to work hard? Can you push yourself that little bit further? Read on if you want to learn a simple strategy for improving your desire to go one step further.
Creating a habit to do hard work is easy. Say yes or say no. One of these words pushes you forward. The other means you are left behind.
Ask anyone in my team. Coaches or players. They will say I work the hardest. I do not doubt that.
I love working hard. I love feeling the pain of an intense workout. I love digging deeper than my teammates. I love it when other people push me. Why? Because I know I am improving. There is something so satisfying about finishing a hard workout, training just that little bit longer, and pushing past your limits. This was not always the case, however. I have not always had a passion for hard work. It is a skill I have developed over the years, initially instilled by my parents, and now, I find motivation to push harder from other elite athletes.
My first taste of hard work
When I first started to recognise that I could potentially pursue a career in professional sport, I was around the age of 12. At this point in my development, I had been training for 2 years; however, I had ticked off some significant milestones quickly. I played for my state in my U12 age group and U15 age group. It was fair to say I had a natural talent for my sport, but I was also driven to improve. Every day after school, I would train with my dad for a couple of hours. I did enjoy training, but my dad always told me that if I wanted to get better, I would have to practise. I was one of the best in my age group. I was always referred to as the next up-and-coming talent. Fortunately, my parents used to constantly remind me;
My parents would read news articles and books about elite athletes to learn what their mindset was. They would tell me, “So and so made sure they were always the first at training and the last to leave, if you want to be the best, you have to go one step further than everyone else”. And that I did, for years in my development, I trained harder than everyone else around me. I would ask my dad to take me to training before school since after school was usually occupied by team training. Around the age of 15, doing hard work started coming naturally. My parents were no longer asking me if I wanted to train, rather, I was asking them to take me to practice. That is why:
“There’s no way around hard work. Embrace it. You have to put in the hours because there is always something you can improve on”
– Roger Federer.
Where am I now?
I am at the stage in my career now where I am always trying to work harder than everyone else. My parents worry that I am doing too much. I find it amusing because they always questioned whether I was doing enough. I have learned the habit of hard work, and I want to teach you how to learn too.
Hard work is a habit.
This is challenging.
There have been so many times that I asked myself if I wanted to spend an extra 15 minutes training, and I said no. There have been many times that I say I will wake up early to go for a run before training, and I say no. I didn’t even care that I bailed on myself at the time, either. Now, when I ask myself the question, and I say no, I regret it instantly because I know I am taking the easy option. If I want to get better, I have to say yes. I know that many other people are saying no, and that is my advantage.
The downside…
Unfortunately, there will be people along the way who question whether you are working too hard. Don’t let them stop you. I have found that these people have their own insecurities about their ability, or lack thereof, to put the work in. You are capable of more than you think. To help you get started, here are some strategies that may be helpful.
Strategies for success.
- Say YES. First and foremost. When you ask yourself whether you want to do something hard, you must tell yourself yes. You must show up for yourself. The more you do, the easier it gets.
- Ask someone to join you. If letting yourself down isn’t motivation enough, ask a friend to join you. Pick wisely, though. If they don’t push you, they are not the right person. Schedule a time to do something hard and commit to doing it. At least this way, if you want to bail, not only are you letting yourself down, but your friend as well.
- Reward yourself. There is light at the end of the tunnel. When I go for an early morning run, I like to follow it with a coffee from my favourite café. I don’t like to buy coffee every day, so when I complete a hard workout, I like to treat myself. I find it very satisfying to sit down and enjoy a good brew from my favourite café. Only after the hard work is done, however.
- Read the book “Can’t Hurt Me”. This is an autobiography written by David Goggin’s. In my opinion, this guy is the king of hard work. He is a source of great motivation for me. As soon as I read this book, I thought I better start putting the work in. It will make you feel lazy as shit, but sometimes that is the push we need.
To wrap things up.
Say YES. The strategy for creating the habit of hard work is that simple. Executing this strategy does require effort. You must start doing the hard work. It is going to suck in the beginning, but it does get easier. The more you say YES, the more you show up for yourself, the more you will want to push. It becomes less of a question between yes and no and more of a non-negotiable. Fortunately, the satisfaction level always remains the same. The feeling of accomplishment will always be there since you have done something to improve. You have made a difference for yourself. That is a very important factor for living a fulfilling life, in my opinion.
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