Determination and persistence as a postive motivation

I often see sportsmen and women (especially tennis players) who seem to win a battle with an equally skilled opponent purely as a result of their will power, persistence and determination. Whether it's mental toughness, luck or something else, these players seem to be able to succeed more often than their opponents.

The same principle applies in the academic sphere: see my note on Andrew Marsh's talk. He argues that often a student who is a "success seeker", who is confident and has low doubt, will be more resilient and more likely to overcome setbacks than a naturally brilliant student who is not used to failure and who treats a lower than normal mark in one topic in one part of a course as a major failure which they cannot overcome.

In David Maister's article It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Much You Want It he argues that in the case of career progression you really need to work hard to find out what you can be passionate about. Some key quotes:

The key lesson is that, for me and for others, lifelong drive and determination, the burning passion to get somewhere next, are the key ingredients in career success...

It’s the willingness to keep trying, always committing yourself to getting better, whenever you have just stumbled — which is hard. What may be more critical, successful people keep stretching when they are already doing well — which is even harder!...

If people sometimes lose sight of the need for energy and “force” because their momentum is carrying them, they also lose drive and energy when they have to deal with setbacks.