If you don’t follow golf, you may have missed something profound that happened this last week. Scottie Scheffler, the greatest golfer in the world right now, started the week off with an interview that gave us a window into the lives of the ultra successful.

In this interview, he appears pretty beaten down by the grind of being a professional golfer. He says, “I’m not here to inspire somebody else to be the best player in the world because what’s the point? … Why do I want to win the Open Championship so badly? I don’t know. Because if I win, it’s gonna be awesome for about two minutes, and then we’re gonna get to the next week... and we’re back here again.”

You may be familiar with the hedonic treadmill. The human brain is wired to crave more of anything that brings us joy. Your key to happiness will always be just ten steps in front of you. Each time you get there, you realize the goalpost moved a bit further out. Scottie’s proving that this happens no matter how successful you become.

To be clear, he isn’t bowing out of golf. He’s actually explaining the secret to why he’s so dominant right now. At the elite level, the edge in golf goes to whoever has the most mental resilience. Scheffler finds fulfillment in practice and through his family— not through wins. This gives him the mental edge.

After setting this perspective, he went out and buried the rest of the field, winning by 4 strokes.

As I mentioned last week, the best in the world need to be able to show up day after day. They pursue a sport because of a love for the daily grind, not for the awards. They find purpose in their life outside the sport. And with this foundation beneath them, they can go all out in a competition, knowing they have a place to land if they fall.

If you find this concept intriguing, the book Win the Inside Game by Steve Magness covers it in more depth. This path to success goes far beyond sports. Whatever you are pursuing, we could all learn a little something from Scottie.

Training Updates

This last week was my first week back into consistent running after I did a half Ironman 6 weeks ago and then traveled every week since. My biggest concern is ramping back up too quickly, injuring myself, and then facing a major setback. So far, I feel good about my return.

• I had a deload bench press week, doing all my sets at 135 lbs.

• I continued upping my box squat and squat-stance deadlift intensity, trying to improve my form to use more glutes in these lifts. A previous lower back / glute / hip injury is continuing to fade over time with this new focus.

• I ran 30 miles over 6 days: 4,4,6,4,4,8.

• I started tracking a daily “freshness” score to catch overtraining sooner. That averaged 7.2.

• My diet was incredibly poor, and I gained several pounds despite all of this activity. We’re talking daily cupcakes, ice cream, nachos, pizza, fast food… Running again really cranks up my cravings for calorie-dense foods.

My Goals For This Week

• I’m starting a new bench press program. For the next 4 weeks, I’ll be doing 4×4 at 215 twice a week, with some quality form-focused warm up and back off sets.

• Box Squat 3×6-9×225lbs@RPE8.

• Squat-stance deadlift: work up to a top set of 3-5×275@RPE8, then do 3 back off sets of 3-5×255@RPE8.

• Run 5 days this week, totaling 32 miles. (Biking one day this week.)

• Clean up my diet. Whole foods focus, saying no to “junk” again.

A Thought For The Week

What’s the foundation in your life that allows you to take risks and pursue excellence? Do you need to spend some more time on it?

Real Training requires fulfillment outside the sport.