“The secret is to show up, do the work, and go home.”

At some point this summer I read a Tim Ferriss transcript where he was talking to a coach about training the weakest arc of a movement to build strength.

While I was searching for the interview – which of course I didn’t bookmark, I’m getting better about it! – I found this article on mental toughness. In it, former men’s gymnastics national team coach Christopher Sommer talks about breaking through frustration and committing to a long-term goal.

I love this:

The secret is to show up, do the work, and go home.

A blue collar work ethic married to indomitable will. It is literally that simple. Nothing interferes. Nothing can sway you from your purpose. Once the decision is made, simply refuse to budge.

Refuse to compromise.

And accept that quality long-term results require quality long-term focus. No emotion. No drama. No beating yourself up over small bumps in the road. Learn to enjoy and appreciate the process. This is especially important because you are going to spend far more time on the actual journey than with those all too brief moments of triumph at the end.

Coach Christopher Sommer, talking to Tim Ferriss. Read the full article here.

I’ll be honest:

One of the biggest things I struggle with is the consistency necessary to get to the result I want, particularly with my own projects.

It’s easy to show up for my clients, for other people, but when it comes to showing up for myself…

I’m not awesome at committing to a personal goal and then showing up every single day to get my shit done, rain or shine.

I get overwhelmed easily by the road ahead, by everything I haven’t done up to this point to set myself up for success.

I get stuck in the planning phase and don’t take action.

And when I do take action, I get frustrated easily when I don’t IMMEDIATELY get the results I want. I beat myself up. I lose motivation. I decide to do more research instead of showing up to do the work.

And then I give up because it’s easier than failing …and pretend like that’s not failure.

But I’m trying to learn. To be kinder to myself. To set the goal but love the process.

To show up every day and do the work.

How about you? What helps you stay motivated and take action when you get overwhelmed?

[IMAGE: A photo I took of my campfire while camping in the Allegheny National Forest in Pennsylvania. I had just upgraded to a Nikon D7100 and oh boy was she fun to play with on that trip.]