One of the first autobiographies I picked up was that of Richard Feynman.
During his time at Princeton, he worked in army over a summer. Here’s an excerpt:
I thought I only had to correct the air resistance at different altitudes. Instead, my job was to invent a machine that would make the shell explode at the right moment, when the fuse won’t burn!
I decided that was too hard for me and went back to Princeton.
Focus on the last line above. This was very powerful for me when I first read it in 2019. He, who went on to become a Nobel laureate, thought something was hard.
Failure stories can be very, if not more, powerful than all the success stories you see on social media.
Pick someone whom you respect. And try to actively look behind the curtain. It could be from an autobiography or interviews. See how it changes your perspective.