This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "Relentless" by Tim Grover. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.
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Is there still more you can do to become a better person? Do you want to learn how to keep improving yourself?
In Relentless, Tim Grover highlights the importance of self-improvement as a stepping stone to achieving your goals. He provides three methods to constantly push yourself to improve: don’t define what’s impossible, never settle for “good enough,” and surround yourself with relentlessness.
Below we’ll go into more detail on these three methods and how they can benefit you in the present and future.
Never Stop Improving to Prosper
Grover says that knowing how to keep improving yourself is a crucial part of doing everything you can to achieve your goals, and therefore is crucial for acting relentlessly. In addition, by constantly pushing as hard as you can to improve, you’ll better understand what you’re capable of and how you can use those capabilities to succeed.
(Shortform note: Psychology suggests that constantly pushing yourself hard, as Grover encourages, can lead to burnout—a kind of emotional exhaustion characterized by disinterest and cynicism in regards to your field. The risk of burnout suggests that there are moments when not pushing yourself will actually better enable you to succeed in the long run, since it’ll make you healthier and keep you motivated to succeed. To avoid burnout while still pushing hard, experts recommend you learn to recognize when you’re pushing yourself out of habit versus when you’re doing it for a worthy goal. Ease off if you’re acting habitually, and keep going if you have a good reason to do so.)
Grover recommends three methods that will help you commit to constant improvement:
- Don’t define what’s impossible
- Never settle for “good enough”
- Surround yourself with relentlessness
Method #1: Don’t Define What’s Impossible
Grover emphasizes that an important part of seeking constant improvement is never claiming that something is impossible because it places a limit on you that may or may not actually exist. After all, there are plenty of things that seemed impossible until somebody did them—going to the moon, for example, or running the 100-meter dash in under 10 seconds. By calling things impossible, you naturally start focusing on what you think you can’t do, which is the kind of thinking that leads to fears and self-doubts that hold back people who are just “good” or “great.”
Redefine Failure
To avoid thinking about what you can’t do, Grover also recommends you redefine failure. It’s not a lack of success—the only failure is giving up and no longer working towards success. By using this definition of failure, you won’t focus on what you can’t do and will instead focus on how you can improve and overcome setbacks.
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Like what you just read? Read the rest of the world's best book summary and analysis of Tim Grover's "Relentless" at Shortform .
Here's what you'll find in our full Relentless summary :
- The qualities you’ll need to become the best in your field
- Why sacrifices and discomfort are necessary for growth
- Why you should practice indulging in your primal self
