It’s something I tell myself every single day, and in all transparency, not something I achieve every single day. As everyone I also have bad days, bad stretches of time, low energy weeks, sometimes overwhelming conditions, etc. However, I’m a strong believer that how you approach these failures makes all the difference in the long term.
I’ve never been nor will be great at anything, except at trying to be. And I am comfortable (just enough) with that. The persistence of not always achieving but keep trying to achieve has shaped my approach to life.
Consider the difference between not trying to be in shape, trying to be in shape but failing to do it as you would have hoped for, or really acing it. Being very critical of myself, I am always aiming for the last one, not allowing myself to be the first one in any way, and sadly achieving the second one.
The trick here is not “settling” for the half-way success, but consistently, persistently with all the discipline one can muster keep aiming for the top. As I am always juggling too many balls (something I can’t avoid, nor want to) there is just enough comfort in the relative progress to maintain the motivation going, and certainly enough discomfort and criticism to keep pushing.
Wake up every single day, know what you want to achieve, and get up with the full intent of achieving it. Keep at it, and you just might.