Nir Eyal

that people who are high performers in pretty much every conceivable industry, whether it's the arts, whether it's sports, whether it's business, these people have a very peculiar trait.

And it's not in all areas of their life.

It's the thing that they're very good at.

Somehow to them, the thing that for the rest of us looks hard is easy for them.

They don't grit their way through things.

They have somehow changed the relationship between pain and suffering.

This is the killer insight that the people who are doing things, for example, I've tried many things that I'll just quit after a while because they're just too hard.

I don't enjoy them anymore.

Oh, this sucks.

It's not fun.

I'm no good at this.

This is too hard.

And yet you'll meet somebody who's really excellent at it and it's no big deal.

The same exact behavior for one person is a drag and they quit.

And for the other person, it gives them energy and life force and they're having a great time.

Why?

Same stimulus.

They're doing the same thing.

It's that they perceive it differently.

They believe in it differently.