I hit golf balls into the field behind my house everyday and have for 3+ years.

I check this one spot every time – it’s a mud pit, 145 yards straight downhill from where I hit.

I check that pit for golf balls every day.

I never find any balls in that pit, yet I still check it.

Today was the first day I decided, “fuck it, I’m not checking the pit.”

It’s never given me a ball.

Why not avoid it today?

I avoided the pit for a while, but my better judgement had me check it again.

Two balls.

I found two balls in the pit.

I’ve never found one.

In almost anything I’ve ever succeeded at I’ve felt like I had hit my breaking point.

I’ve conceded.

I’ve decided, now is the time to stop. To give up. I’ve given it my all.

I’ve always told myself once I have that feeling, I should push a little farther.

If it doesn’t pay off after my next go, I’ll move on.

I always seem to succeed shortly after.

It’s wild.

And once you achieve your goal, you quickly realize it doesn’t feel like you thought it would.

It’s less dramatic.

That’s what success feels like.

It’s not linear.

It feels like constant failure. Failure after failure.

Until one day, you succeed and you realize success is not as fulfilling as you thought.

Working really hard towards a goal is the fun part.

It may not always seem like it.

It mostly doesn’t.

But once you’ve achieved a long-term goal, you realize how much you should have appreciated the boring day to day.

The boring day to day is really what matters.