Everyone wants to achieve big things. Almost no one wants to do the...
Bob Bowman@coach_bowman
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Nov 11, 2026
~1 min read
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1
Everyone wants to achieve big things. Almost no one wants to do the small boring things, every day, that get them there.
Michael Phelps did.
And he had a simple rule for the days he didn't feel it. 🧵
Michael Phelps did.
And he had a simple rule for the days he didn't feel it. 🧵
2
I coached Michael Phelps from the time he was 11, so I watched this up close. He rarely gave me a perfect practice, a 10 out of 10.
What he gave me almost every single day was an 8. A very high average, kept up for years.
What he gave me almost every single day was an 8. A very high average, kept up for years.
3
Everyone has off days. Even he would drop to a 2 or a 3 now and then, usually when he was sick.
The difference was he'd be back to an 8 the very next day.
He never spent weeks stuck below his standard.
The difference was he'd be back to an 8 the very next day.
He never spent weeks stuck below his standard.
4
A lot of people follow the opposite pattern. A couple of great days, then a long slide, then guilt, then another great day.
The great days feel like progress, but the slides quietly cancel them out.
The great days feel like progress, but the slides quietly cancel them out.
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Zooming out, forget the perfect performance on your worst days. Just get your 8.
Show up when it feels like a 2, and never let it slide for weeks.
The boring 8s are what build the great ones.
Show up when it feels like a 2, and never let it slide for weeks.
The boring 8s are what build the great ones.
