The inconvenient truth about ruthless successful people - Miłosz Brzeziński

Example from windsurfing: a competitor is given a task by the coach to, on every wave, regardless of conditions, set the board vertically upwards for at least one frame of animation. Even if a perfect wave approaches and it's a shame to waste it on practicing one element, they are to ignore that thought – waves are only there to practice. The coach often has to explain this repeatedly because competitors lose sight of the training strategy. Brzeziński describes that coaches use various tricks: stakes on the shore, wax on the board, drawings on the hand – all so the competitor remembers the one task. Ultimately, it's about building the ability to cope in any conditions and deep knowledge of one's own limits. This way, you are not working on a general goal, but on a specific component – and that is precisely master-level work.

Brzeziński reports that in one interview a coach said: 'I motivate them to stop.' When you tell a young person to do 20 squats, they will try 40, because they think it will be better. Meanwhile, working beyond the planned dose lowers the performance peak and delays recovery, so the peak might fall not on the competition, but two days after it. Recovery at the master level is just as important as the effort itself – you must rest as precisely as you train. Brzeziński even says that a master rests at a master level: e.g., Iga Świątek immediately after leaving the court applies ice to lower body temperature and fall asleep faster. The rule applies not only to sports but to any intense mental work – if after two hours you feel great, that is the moment to stop, because thanks to that tomorrow you will be at your peak again.