Quote of the Day - James Clear on Excitement and Discipline

Transcript for accessibility purposes:
“Excitement is a better motivator than discipline. The people who appear to have an exceptional work ethic or remarkable discipline are often those with a genuine curiosity or interest in that area. The person who smiles is more likely to keep working than the person gritting their teeth.”

James Clear

I usually share two types of quotes in this series: the ones that resonate deeply with me and the ones that provoke me and make me think. Today's quote is in the second group.

It didn't feel right when I read it for the first time but after reflecting on it a bit it started making a lot of sense.

I've always though of myself as a very disciplined person and my discipline, combined with my efficiency allowed me to stay ahead of most both in personal and professional terms.

However, looking back, I realize that the periods where I was showing peak performance were also the periods where I was really excited about the things I was involved with and the opposite was also true; during periods of great frustration, I was not performing at all.

I think it can be hard sometimes to find that genuine curiosity and interest in some things, especially when you are doing them for a paycheck, but I always strive to do that because it's a lot easier to keep going.

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