Christy, here.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what motivates me. Problem is… as of late I feel pretty unmotivated. But if you think about it, there is a reason behind everything we do. Apparently, I’m more motivated by money than I am by good health. See, I may not be motivated to go running but I am motivated to go to work everyday. Why? Because they give me money. If only I could get paid to run…
A few years ago a friend encouraged me to sign up for a 10k. It was my first “real” race and I was motivated big time. Death. Avoiding death was my motivation. Sure, I’d gone running before but never more than 3 consecutive miles. Taking on 6 miles in one punch seemed nigh unto impossible. So I trained. I went to the gym everyday and I ran as far as I could go then ran a little bit more. One mile. One and a quarter miles. One and a half miles. I remember the day I made it up to 4 miles. It was exciting. My motivation continued to be the fear of dying on race day but a new motivation crept in during those months of training. I was motivated by success! I realized I could run farther than I thought possible. It set me on a path that led me to love running. Since then I’ve found that one motivation leads to another.
My motives have varied: weight loss, friends, races, depression (seriously peeps, endorphins are crucial!), impressing people, habit, weather, mileage logs, new running shoes, new music, pictures and quotes cut out from magazines, pace goals.
Beware! Motivations don’t come on silver platters. They must be sought after! They must be created! Last year confronted me with a lot of challenges that took away all my motivations. I got overwhelmed. I got lazy. I never sought a new motivation. It turned into a long, sad year without running. But here we are at the (relative) beginning of a new year and I’m ready to find a new motivation. The most pressing is to fit into my clothes again. It’s not my favorite motive but at least it’s something, right?
Whether it relates to exercise or not the key to success is motivation! Find your motivation to start. Find your motivation to keep going. Whatever, wherever, whenever. Find your motivation!
“To get to the finish line you’ll have to try lots of different paths” – Andy Burfoot
So, I ask you this: What’s your motivation?
Cheers,
Christy
Great post! I just got home from a 2.5 mile run (not very motivated tonight).
I thought I’d share my recently discovered motivator– my husband got me a Garmin for Christmas (yea!) and now I am motivated to show him that I appreciate the gift. Convincing someone to buy you something running related (the more expensive the better) has great motivating benefits!
I find motivation can be found walking in the morning and letting the thought that I am exactly as I want to be fill me.
Nicola
http://www.simpledivorceadvice.com
Christy, you’re so inspiring. My motivation to anything akin to exercise is the desire to avoid becoming a total wimp. I need muscles! The ability to hold a jug of milk across the table to pass to my kids… sad, but true. I want to be able to run and sprint with my kids and impress them by carrying all their bags and mine up the stairs to our apartment without becoming winded. Other times, my motivation is fear – fear of my good genes coming back to bite me when I’m old and everything that I ate without a whim when younger suddenly solidifying into one great mass right in my behind.
Lastly, sexy shoulders. Some women really have ‘em. And I want them!
Christy – good post. My motivation right now is that my neighbor and I are trading childcare so that we can work out every day. I miss out on a chance to be alone (without a crazy toddler jumping all over me) and exercise if I don’t do it. So now I get up in the morning and do Jillian Michaels, even though I don’t really want to.
Lately my motivation has been getting my body back in shape post-pregnancy. Up until a month ago I didn’t really care about getting rid of my flab, but right now I am so motivated. Any time I am tempted to skip a workout I just think about how much I really want to look good again. I think another thing that motivates me is the results that I am noticing – I have lost weight and can lift heavy things, which makes me want to exercise more.