We’ve become very good at expecting things to be easy. We can book appointments with a tap, have our groceries arrive before we’ve finished our morning coffee, and rely on Grammarly to spell check and fix our grammar before we’ve even noticed the error. (That’s one we definitely wouldn’t give up without a fight!) The things that once required patience, planning and a bit of graft have quietly become frictionless.
And while that convenience has made life better in many ways, it’s also made us more intolerant of discomfort. We treat inconvenience as a breach of boundaries, rather than a natural part of being human. Being annoyed, challenged, or even a little awkward is now seen as something to be avoided.
But being annoyed can also be the price of connection. It can mean showing up when you’re tired, sharing space when it’s inconvenient, or pushing through the boring bits that get you to the meaningful ones.
The phrase ‘do what you love, what the world needs, and what you can get paid for’ sits at the heart of the Japanese concept of ikigai i.e. your reason for being. It sounds idyllic, but it misses something important. To get to the point of choosing to do the work you love and only that, you have to accept that you’ll do plenty of work you tolerate, and maybe hate, along the way. And if we’re really honest, a life bereft of any inconvenience in which we only do what makes our heart sing would make it harder to fully appreciate the real hall of fame moments.
We’re yet to meet anyone who loves, and has always loved, every aspect of their job. The paperwork, the stilted chit chat meeting someone new at a networking event, the meetings that could have been an email, they’re all part of the cost. But they’re also what make the good parts possible. Building a great career, a product, or a reputation isn’t a highlight reel. It’s a long process of repetition, small improvements and unglamorous effort.
We see across many aspects of life. Take HYROX, we dread the burpee broad jumps just as much in training as we do on race day. But we do them anyway because we want the finishers’ badge, the achievement, the bragging rights. The challenge is the point.
As we’ve explored before, purpose without practice quickly fades. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.
Consistency is the currency of high-performance. Progress doesn’t come from motivation or convenience but from doing the right things, repeatedly, especially when you don’t feel like it. Confidence grows with evidence as well as encouragement. Each time you show up, finish a task you circled around instead of starting, or seek feedback you know will sting, you reinforce your ability to handle the next challenge.
That’s how resilience is built, not in bursts of inspiration, but in sustained, steady effort.
Gratitude helps you keep going when effort feels heavy. Recognising progress, even in the smallest form, turns monotony into momentum. It reframes effort as a privilege rather than a punishment. When you appreciate the opportunity to improve, it’s easier to find joy in the day-to-day and perspective in the process.
But stamina also requires the right kind of rest. Saundra Dalton-Smith, MD, author of Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity, explained the importance of a holistic approach to rest in a 2021 TED Talk. The seven distinct types of rest were noted as: physical, mental, sensory, spiritual, social, emotional and creative. Identifying which kind you need and building personal strategies that align with your goals can help you sustain performance without running on empty.
For leaders, facilitating conversations around purpose and the path to achievement matters. High-performing teams are not those that never tire, but those that know how to recover well. Encouraging reflection, rest, and shared gratitude allows people to perform at their best without sacrificing commercial results.
Confidence, then, isn’t about bravado or constant motion. It’s about having the perspective to know when to push, when to pause, and when to acknowledge the progress you’ve already made.
Why This Matters Now
We live in a world that idolises speed and convenience, but meaningful progress still belongs to those who stay the course. Mastery is built in the moments when you stay consistent, when you take feedback, when you show up even when it feels inconvenient. If you want your team to perform at a high level, create a culture that sees discomfort as part of development, gratitude as fuel, and rest as strategy. The grind isn’t the opposite of growth, it’s the evidence of it.
At MCO Performance, we help teams build the systems, structure and mindset that make that consistency possible. Book a 15-minute discovery call to explore how we can help your business perform better, without burning out.
Take the next step and complete our 3 minute diagnostic quiz.