What differentiates Virat Kohli, Messi and Saina Nehwal from the rest? Take a closer look the next time you watch them play. It is their enthusiasm that keeps them going when the others are tired and weary. They put in a hundred percent effort and enjoy what they are doing because they are enthusiastic.

The word enthusiasm means 'God within' in Greek. It is a state of mind that arouses and inspires a person to put action into the task at hand. The great philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm."

Enthusiasm, according to Napoleon Hill, bears the same relationship to a human being that steam does to a locomotive. It is the vital moving force that impels action. Success in sport at any level depends a lot on how enthusiastic you are about learning new things, achieving your targets, progressing to higher levels of your sport, etc. It is in fact the inner voice that whispers "I can do it!" when others shout "No you can't!"

What's more, enthusiasm is contagious! In sports, when you want to inspire your team to fight it out and play as a team, the enthusiasm of a few team members will spread to the others and in no time you will notice that the whole team is fighting back as a unit.