The Difference Between Working Hard and Getting Better | Big Think

About this episode

The episode explores the difference between working hard and getting better, focusing on mastery and how to handle tricky situations at work.

What does it actually take to go from good to great at work — and is "mastery" even the right word for it? In this episode, Helen and Sarah borrow brilliance from The Big Think's collection of articles on mastery, and make it feel a lot more relevant to everyday squiggly careers than the word itself might suggest. They explore two big ideas: how to master your response to tricky situations (think: the passive aggressive Canva comment, the "I'll just do it" default, or the unexpected tears in a meeting), and how to master your ability to succeed — including how elite athletes think about risk and failure in a way that's surprisingly useful for anyone with an ambitious goal. 🎯 What You'll Learn How to move from a default response to a deliberate decision — and why that space in between is everything– What elite athletes do differently when things go wrong (and how to apply it to your own goals)– Why naming your version of success — and stress-testing the risks — makes you more likely to actually get there– How to reframe failure as a data point rather than a verdict on you 📚 Resources Mentioned The Big Think newsletter The Big Think — Mastery collection For questions about…

People in this episode

Hosts: Helen, Sarah

Topics covered

• mastery
• response to tricky situations
• elite athletes
• risk and failure
• success
• career development

Keywords

• mastery
• career
• elite athletes
• failure
• success
• decision making
• risk

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Big Think

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