Putting in the hours!

I went to a press conference yesterday with the coach, captain and chairman of Ajax Cape Town football club. They were asked what it would take to get more local players into the big European leagues. Straight away they said that all of their players were keen to make the step up, but that this was going to require far more hard work to be put in to get up to the required level. They felt that perhaps the work ethic was not quite there to match their ‘desire’. This got me thinking about how often we hear people in sport, as well as in business talking about how hard work eventually pays off. Now don’t get me wrong, not everyone who works hard will be successful, but very few people who don’t work hard ARE successful. Interview after interview, and biography after biography talk about how hard people have worked for their success, yet it seems that not everyone takes that advice and does the same themselves.

My view on hard work is that it gives you two vital attributes. Firstly, it gives you the increased skill, fitness, strength levels that are required in your specific field. Muscle memory improves and bodies become more susceptible to the demands of the game. Secondly, and I believe even more importantly, through increased practice, comes increased confidence. I have spoken before about how confidence stems from past positive results, as well as from preparation (which if perceived well results in feeling of readiness). There is the view that attitude determines how you prepare, and how you prepare then determines how confident you are, which then determines how well you play. Through this increased hard work that is put in, self-perception and inner dialogue becomes better and more positive. This internal dialogue reinforcing how much work you have put in and how much it will help you will begin to result in confidence. This dialogue will often only take place once you have put in those hard yards! I don’t even need to say how much confidence plays a role in performance, as everyone knows that feeling relaxed, free of fear and ready for the task at hand will improve performance.

I look at people like Morne Steyn and Jonny Wilkinson in rugby, they have been known to be the first at practice and the last to leave. Vijay Singh, a top golfer has still managed to stay at the top of his game for a long period of time due to his propensity for hours on the practice range. Tiger Woods too has been known to spend hours in the gym to get an extra edge. Even Ronaldo and Beckham, people whom you may perceive as being super-talented have been known to be some of the hardest workers on their games. They have honed their skills as best possible, but have also built up a resilience and confidence in their own games due to the knowledge that the hours put in will pay off for them when it counts. In rugby, I always say it is important to be the fittest side, but what is more important is that you know that you are the fittest side so when the game gets tight, you have a confidence in your fitness as a result of the hard work you have put in, which could result in the excellent results you desire.

Hard work therefore cannot be shirked as it is plain to see how important it is in both the skills and attributes gained physically, but also in its immense value mentally. The confidence from hard work will also only transpire if the individual is comfortable with the work they have put in and backs that up with positive dialogue. What must exist for this though- is self-motivation to put the work in. But that’s another story for another day!!