Silk Pajamas and The Comfort Trap

Today’s Theme

Ever notice how the very thing you used to dream about can sometimes become the very thing that dulls your drive?

You train and make sacrifices and then one day, you achieve what you set out for. You win the championship. You earn the massive pay day. You become an All-Star. And next thing you know, a strange new opponent steps into the ring.

It’s not pressure. It’s not failure. It’s comfort.

Nobody warns you that success will try to convince you to stay where it’s warm and safe. Today’s story explores how we can keep our internal fire lit, and not lose our edge, as we chase and achieve success.

Marvin Hagler’s Silk Pajamas

Marvin Hagler didn’t become a champion because life was easy. He grew up in Newark, New Jersey, in a neighborhood wrecked by riots and filled with hard lessons. His family later moved to Brockton, Massachusetts, where he discovered boxing.

Hagler didn’t just train. He became driven and obsessed. He locked himself into training camps called “self-imposed prisons” with no distractions and no shortcuts. Just work. He became the undisputed middleweight champion, holding the belt for seven years, defending it 12 times between 1980 and 1987.

Over the course of time, as success brought wealth and comfort, Hagler noticed a change within himself. The fire that once drove him began to wane. Reflecting on this shift, he famously said:

This candid admission wasn’t a knock on success, but rather a warning for all of us. It highlighted a universal challenge: Maintaining the drive that propels us to greatness even when comfort beckons.

The same hunger that got you to the top doesn’t always follow you once you get there. 

And if you don’t learn how to feed it, on purpose, it fades.

The Winner Effect

Our brains are wired for efficiency. Once we find a way to win, it’s easy to default to “coast mode.” The urgency that once fueled us can give way to the low hum of complacency.

Complacency isn’t always loud. Sometimes it’s just the sound of routines and efforts that no longer stretch you.

In his book, The Winner Effect: The Science of Success and How to Use It, Ian Robertson outlines what happens when you win at just about anything. Your brain releases testosterone and dopamine. That one-two punch makes you more confident, more willing to take risks, and raises your drive.

In short, winning changes your brain chemistry and puts you in a physiological state that makes winning again more likely.

Once you’ve had success, your body wants to stay there. It wants less stress, fewer reps, shorter sessions. It’s hardwired to conserve energy.

But growth? Growth requires resistance. And resistance doesn’t show up if you’re coasting.

Comfort feels nice. But unchecked? It cancels the momentum that got you here in the first place.

Coaching Tactics to Fight Back Against Complacency

Below are some suggestions and considerations for how to help your performers maintain their inner edge and build a “winner’s identity.”

1. Set Challenging (But Attainable) Targets

Sustained success won’t always start with a big win. It requires aiming at a good target.

Eminent Harvard psychologist David McClelland spent decades studying achievement motivation. One of his conclusions suggests that top performers aim for what he calls “moderately challenging targets.”

Targets not so easy, they become boring. And targets not so hard, they’re demoralizing. Just enough to stretch the mind and generate pride when they’re hit.

If the bar’s too low, there’s no pride in clearing it. If it’s too high, people stop jumping altogether.

As coaches and leaders, part of our job is to set the bar high enough to require sweat, but not so high that it breaks their spirit.

2. Stack Small Wins

If winning changes the brain, then one of the most powerful identity tools in your toolkit is small, consistent wins. Below are examples of “wins” in a few different areas:

• Physical — Lifting a personal best, completing a proper warm-up, 7-8 hours of sleep, etc.

• Training — Finishing a rep/drill, recovering quickly after a mistake, applying feedback from a coach in a drill, etc.

• Leadership — Leading a team huddle, coaching a teammate to help them understand the system, holding a teammate accountable in a responsible way, etc.

Each win reinforces and whispers, “This is who you are now.”

By stacking these small wins, you’re not just building better athletes, you’re shaping a new identity: One that expects to win because you’ve already started doing it.

Final Thoughts:

Marvin Hagler's famous quote serves as a poignant reminder: Success can lull us into complacency if we're not vigilant.

Success has a shadow. And it’s not always failure…It’s comfort. The silk pajamas weren’t the enemy. The comfort they symbolized was.

Inspiration for This Piece:

• Robertson, I. H. (2012). The winner effect: The neuroscience of success and failure. New York, NY: Thomas Dunne Books.