Clay

I do find it interesting to get the email each week from James Clear author of Atomic Habits.  There is always something in it I like to have a think about.  I may or may not always agree with what is being said but I always find stuff that challenges me.
Like the email I just received I could not agree more with. “When you choose the benefits of an action, you also choose the drawbacks.
If you want to be an author, you can't only choose the finished novel and book signings. You are also choosing months of lonely typing. If you want to be a bodybuilder, you can't only choose the fit body and attention. You are also choosing the boring meals and calorie counting. 
You have to want the lifestyle, not just the outcomes... The results of success are usually public and highly visible, but the process behind success is often private and hidden from view. It's easy to want the public rewards, but [you] also have to want the hidden costs”
That too me is so true in all of life.  I did a limited amount of running but I know if I want to be good at say marathons I need to put in the time away from public view.  Step after step.  The US has just celebrated 4th of July.  We saw the “Hot Dog eating” competition.  An Australian came third. (the object was to see who could consume the most hot dogs in a given amount of time).  He was asked what he needed to do to get any better.  His response was a classic example of the need to put in the time away from public view.  He said he thought the secret to success was putting in the reps.  He commented that so many of who he was up against had been doing it for 10 years.  He started late but has natural talent.
That sort of thing is key for me.  I remember hearing someone say they were sick of “potential.”  The world is full of potential.  Yet potential will never be enough to make me my best.  I need to work with what I have.  Away from public view.  Take it further.
Potential to me is like a lump of clay.  It may be the best lump of clay ever for making a jar.  Yet the potential does not make it a jar.  It needs to be worked.  Manipulated.  Transformed into what it can be.  The process may not be pleasant, but the outcome is worth it.
I feel like my life is like a lump of clay.  I do not need to be the best in the world but simply the best I can be.  To make anything of worth takes time and effort, but it is worth it.