The drive to do hard things...

Hey Reader,

This week’s podcast, we talked about where our drive to chase goals comes from, sparked by a listener’s question.

And the first thing that came to mind was my dad.

He always had a project on the go.

A shed to build, a garden to tend to, or an extension on the back of the house.

He’d work on it for a couple of hours every evening over several weeks until the thing was done.

The garden had a sequence to the year.

Preparing the soil, starting seeds in the greenhouse, transplanting them, watering them, then waiting until harvest.

I was always seeing him work toward something that had a deliverable at the end, and it stuck with me.

I remember back in school, I joined a Welsh folk dance group (haha). I’m embarrassed to say that.

I wasn’t naturally talented at it, but I learned you can work towards a goal, get better at it, and achieve it.

My drive was built on seeing people work towards meaningful things and experiencing the proof that they can do hard things.

And over the years, I love the euphoria of competing at things I love, practicing them over and over, and getting better year after year.

🧠 Sustaining the drive

As an elite high performer, you’re definitely driven.

I imagine you can trace it back to an early moment when you realized you could work hard at something and achieve it.

Something in you loves to work towards things, get better at them, and achieve them.

But sometimes we lose touch with our drive, and it becomes a struggle to get our spark back.

You’re still showing up for other things, but deep down, something feels off.

More like there’s less momentum, passion, and excitement to chase goals.

And it’s killing your confidence to go after harder things.

It can feel like a burden because you know there are still a lot of crazy big things you want to do.

Nothing is wrong with you, and you’ve not lost your edge.

You’re just disconnected from things that give what you do true meaning.

❤️ Stay connected to meaning

I’ve learned over time that drive runs on being connected to meaning.

The only way to sustain your drive is to stay committed to something that genuinely matters to you.

It may sound cliché, but we can’t overlook it.

When what you’re chasing has deep-rooted meaning, it gives it purpose.

That meaning fuels the momentum, drive, passion, resilience, and joy to pursue extraordinary things.

It doesn’t matter how fast the results come.

You’ll genuinely enjoy seeing the progress and just keep getting better.

Whatever happens, win or lose, you have no regrets.

When it gets hard, you already know it was going to be hard.

You keep going knowing why you’re doing it, and what achieving it will mean to you.

Something about being able to achieve those hard things makes you more confident in yourself.

And you’ll find fulfilment in your wins and failures.

Do you feel like you’ve lost touch with your drive?

What’s something big you’ve been finding hard to go after lately that’s quite unlike you?

Look around you.

Look at what you’ve done.

There’s so much proof that you can do hard things.

Just reconnect with why you started the journey in the first place.

The reason may no longer serve you because you’ve evolved, and that’s fine.

Think about why it matters to you now.

And get around people working towards something. Drive is easier to feel when you’re near other people chasing things. It’s contagious.

You’ll be amazed at what you’ve still got in you.

You’ve got this.

As Vince Lombardi says, "The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will."

With appreciation,

Huw

P.S: We talked about where our drive comes from on this week’s pod.

We also got into the best things running has given us that have nothing to do with running, and we answered a cute listener question about fueling a six-year-old for their first junior parkrun, plus lots more good stuff.

Worth a listen.