Consistency beats motivation

It’s NBA playoff time (that’s basketball by the way) and, as I write this, only 4 teams remain in the fight. One of the teams has a Canadian kid in it. His name is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA for short) and he was just named the Most Valuable Player in the whole world for the second year in a row. His team, Oklahoma City Thunder, is also favoured to win another championship.

SGA was recently asked what he thought was the key to greatness. His answer was beautifully simple:

“Doing what you’re supposed to do when you don’t want to do it.”

It’s basic but important. Greatness requires work. A lot of it. And especially on the days we really don’t want to do it.

Most of us can work hard when we feel motivated. When we’re starting something new, racing toward a deadline, or riding a bit of momentum, effort comes more easily. The harder part is showing up when the spark is gone. When nobody is clapping. When progress feels slow. When we’re tired, overlooked, or wondering if the work even matters. Those are the moments where resilience gets built.

Consistency beats motivation 100% of the time

SGA’s story is a potent reminder that doing the work over and over is how you get to become a champion.

Today, he’s one of the smoothest basketball players on the planet. He plays with this almost unfair calm, never rushing or panicking and keeping his teammates steady even in the most pressurized environments.

But his rise was far from smooth.

In Grade 9, he tried out for the junior team at his high school and didn’t make it. For any young athlete dreaming of the big leagues, that kind of rejection can land heavily. You start wondering if you’re good enough. Whether the effort is worth it. Whether maybe you should put your energy somewhere else. Plenty of people get stuck right there.

But SGA’s move was to find another path and keep working hard. He joined a lower-grade team, became the MVP of that team, and helped lead them to a city championship. It’s a great second act for this young guy. He went from being cut to focusing on what needed to happen next. He just got to work, thinking about the next practice, then the next game, then the next rep.

Eventually, he transferred schools and moved to the US to play in tougher competitions. He was ready to stretch his confidence again, looking for bigger challenges that would push him further.

Protecting our confidence usually means staying where we’re already comfortable. We avoid the harder conditions because we’re afraid of being exposed. Too many times we choose the safe lane because it allows us to keep feeling capable. But growth almost always requires the opposite: it demands us to step into places where we are not yet the best. Places where the pace is quicker and standards are higher.

That gap is going to feel uncomfortable, but it’s also where we grow the most.

SGA eventually landed at Kentucky in college, again surrounded by flashier, more highly touted players. He worked his way up and off the bench and kept learning and improving. It was enough to earn some recognition and get himself into the NBA Draft.

And in 2018, he was selected #11 overall by Charlotte, but then he was immediately traded to the LA Clippers, then again traded again to Oklahoma City.

For any player, being tossed around to different teams could have felt like rejection, but for SGA it just became more foundation to build upon. He’d already faced rejection in high school, and he’d figured out that hard work and practice was the best way forward. He just continued to do more of that.

Again, he was just doing what he was supposed to do, even when he didn’t want to do it.

Resilience is deeply unglamorous.

This idea of hard work is not just a basketball or sports idea; it’s useful in life too. It’s the professional showing up with 100% even when they feel underappreciated, or the person choosing the early morning workout when their emotions are begging them to stay in bed.

When it all boils down to it, we just have to do the work.

So here are three simple ideas (and practical tools) we can take from SGA to put into practice and build our resilience.

1. Shrink the task.
   When the bigger picture feels overwhelming, shrink the field of play. We don’t need to solve our whole life in one move. Just win the next rep. Get out of bed. Send the email. Make the call. Start the workout. We just need to find and do the next useful thing. Confidence is often built after action, not before it. We can’t wait for confidence to arrive…it shows up when we’re in the middle of getting sh*t done.

2. Take the lesson, not the label.
   A setback can give us information, but it should never define us. Not making the team might mean we need more skill, more strength, more experience, or more time. It never means we’re not enough. Resilient people learn to separate feedback from identity and instead, they spend the energy on finding a way forward.

3. Choose the harder room.
   If we want to grow, we eventually need to step into places that stretch us. That might mean seeking better competition, asking for tougher feedback, joining a stronger team, or taking on a challenge that makes us nervous. Comfort protects who we are. Challenge reveals who we can become.

SGA’s rise to MVP in the toughest league on the planet has been a slow accumulation of consistent reps. And that’s really the only reminder we need from this story. No matter what we want in life, whether it’s a new role, a healthier body, or a steadier response when life gets messy, we can always vastly improve our chances by practicing. Especially on the days we don’t want to.

Until next time friends, stay resilient.

Carré at Resilient Minds

PS - I help organizations, individuals, and young people build practical resilience skills to better handle life’s challenges. If you’re interested in 1:1 coaching, a team workshop, or having me speak with students or athletes at a school or sports club, hit reply and let’s chat.