Instant Motivation

Chapter 1

The Motivation Myth

Why performance is misunderstood

‘The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd; indeed in view of the silliness of the majority of mankind, a widely spread belief is more likely to be foolish than sensible.’

Bertrand Russell

If you watch any major sporting event, you’ll see outstanding athletes under-perform despite months of training. It doesn’t matter how great they were last week or even yesterday. They can have a wealth of experience, highly honed skills and the right support, but does this guarantee an exemplary performance? All the evidence suggests that it doesn’t and we see many examples of this in every other field too.

So if it isn’t skills and ...