Marjorie Dudley

One of my colleagues, mentors, and friends, Dave Brown, coined a phrase years ago that has stuck with me ever since: WYDFLI — “When You Don’t Feel Like It.”

It sounds simple. Almost too simple.

But I am convinced that WYDFLI is the single biggest difference between those who are successful and those who are not.

Because everybody—everybody—can do the right things when the mood strikes. When motivation is high. When the calendar is clear. When the results are visible. When the work feels exciting, glamorous, or at least mildly satisfying.

That’s the easy part.

The real separation happens when the feeling is gone.

When you don’t feel like making the call.
When you don’t feel like working out.
When you don’t feel like following up.
When you don’t feel like writing, practicing, preparing, or showing up.

Most people wait for motivation. The victorious don’t.

They do the work anyway.

Not because it’s fun.
Not because it’s sexy.
Not because it’s immediately rewarding.

They do it because it’s right.
They do it because they committed.
They do it because they understand how success actually works.

Success is rarely built in moments of inspiration. It’s built in moments of resistance.

There’s a story about a stonecutter striking a rock a hundred times without so much as a crack. On the hundred-and-first blow, the stone splits in two. It wasn’t that final strike alone that did the job—it was every strike before it. The persistence. The consistency. The refusal to quit simply because nothing appeared to be happening.

WYDFLI is that hundred-and-first blow.

It’s choosing to act when the payoff isn’t visible yet. It’s trusting that the work compounds even when you can’t see the math. It’s understanding that discipline is not the absence of discomfort—it’s the decision to move forward with discomfort.

High performers don’t feel like it more often than anyone else. In fact, many feel like it less. The difference is they don’t negotiate with their feelings. They don’t ask, “Do I want to do this today?” They ask, “Who did I say I wanted to become?”

And then they act accordingly.

So the next time you’re waiting to feel motivated, inspired, or excited, remember this:

The moment you don’t feel like it is often the moment that matters most.

That’s WYDFLI.
And that’s where results are made.

Stay Relentless.