I've been asked a few times, how do I stay motivated to
physically train? I had to think about
that for awhile, because I didn't really know the answer. The motivation just seemed to be there, but I
didn't know exactly why. I may still not
know the full answer, but after some reflection, I did discover a few things
about myself.
First, there's a lifestyle that has shaped me into what I am
today. I recently left an organization
where I worked 80 hour weeks for many years.
With all that work, there were still many opportunities for me to
receive feedback about not doing enough.
I'm not bitter, it was a volunteer situation and I feel good about what
I did, but the cost was brutal. My
health suffered, my fitness waned, my waist size increased... and my
capabilities declined.
Now, I'm no longer with that organization and feel extremely
liberated. My current job requires 45 to
50 hours per week out of me and the rest of the week is mine! It's like I have a whole new lease on life
which is extremely motivating. I want to
experience all that I missed. I often sleep only a few hours because I don't want to miss what the next day will bring me.
A second factor that shapes me is I have a deathly fear of
becoming old. I don't want to be that
person that has to use a walker to get around, afraid of falling off a 4 inch
curb and breaking my hip. I've seen
physically fit people age well, and I want to be that. In addition, I don't like the fact that a few
years ago I could so something, but can't now.
So every time I train, every time I lift a weight, run a distance, etc,
I'm fighting off the grim reaper and I'm continually proving to myself that I'm
not getting old and frail.
I think both of these things lead to a mindset that I
celebrate life every day through physical movement. I love physical movement of all types. It's almost euphoric to be able to move my
body. Probably because I didn't live
well before, and because I'm afraid of getting too frail to live well in the
future, my motivation comes from the joy of living experienced by physical
training. Everyone is different, this mindset won't work for all, but it's perfect for me.
Oh, and a nice by product, I'm getting better, my waist size
is decreasing, etc. But this is a by
product, while the goal is to have fun living well.
