MOTIVATION
Noun
» A desire to do something; enthusiasm «
A word that is often thrown around and abused. A word many of us have a tendency to rely on far too much. Found in the many corners of the world wide web, across banners in gyms, and printed onto tee shirts by fast fashion companies to name a few, motivational quotes sport motivation like an oath of loyalty. Not only do they lack thought, but they also align with a culture of people who needs a stimulus to act.
You are not always going to be motivated
Action driven by motivation is like an explosion. You will feel the intensity of the heat, but this only lasts a short while. It burns bright, but lacks a sustainable fuel source. It might help you get out the door, but it will never be the driving factor which keeps you going when things get tough or boring.
Brushing excuses aside and getting things done is a lot easier when you feel motivated and frankly, I believe motivation knows. It always sits in the back of the room and patiently waits to be invited in.
Enter a sunny weekend morning. You slept like a log and have 10 kilometres on the plan. Your best friend is even joining in on the fun! Motivation sees its chance at relevance and appears. Job done. Easy. Now, imagine that same scenario, except the weather outside is no longer sunny, it is cold and windy. Your friend also just texted you to say that they are going to have to skip today... would you still go?
Do not depend on motivation
It will likely not appear late at night either, when the rain is pouring down and the puddles are unavoidable. Not to mention when your hamstrings are twitching into a cramp halfway through a run. And where is it when you are in a world beyond hurt 35 km into a marathon or, dare I say it, when you have to do the dishes? Not with you.
Ask nothing, expect nothing, depend on nothing.
Your dependence on this very thing is why you give up and quit when you or the situation becomes uncomfortable. It is perhaps also the reason that the saying » if it was easy, everyone would do it « exists.
Motivation & endurance running
To an outsider, the ultramarathon community might appear to lean on motivation. Surely motivation is what drives endurance runners to explore the limits of their bodies? You might be surprised to know that this is not the case.
In this community, the acceptance of normality is outweighed by the curiosity of what is possible. How long you can run is proportionate to how long you can suffer. If you seek motivation to conquer a great challenge — such as running 50 miles or beyond — your search is in vain. You are not putting thought behind purpose, or intention behind words.
A personal example
On Sunday, I woke up feeling a little groggy, and I wanted nothing more than to have a relaxing day. I was so demotivated... but sadly that did not change the fact that I had a 1 hour and 45 minute run on the plan!
It was snowing outside. It was cold. I ran 35 km through mud and ankle deep water the day before. My mind was tired and so was my body, and on top of that, it was also that time of the month. I just wanted to snuggle up under a warm blanket on the couch and stay there all day. Be comfortable. Feel sorry for myself. Eat chocolate. Eat more chocolate. Maybe have a nap. Run? No thanks.
I had all the excuses lined up, and the motivation was nowhere to be seen. A rather dangerous combo. However, I had already made up my mind. I was going. It was non-negotiable. I got my pack ready with snacks and water, wrapped up warm and braved the snow. *
Sometimes you just do things.
No one was forcing me out in the snow that day, but out I went, and where some people might wonder why, the real question is perhaps how?
Instead of depending on an, at times, rather unreliable feeling to drive me through the door, I was powered by my curiosity, stubbornness and urge to explore — not just the world, but my own limits, and this run was simply a step in the direction in which I want to go. Watch this space! Read more about why I run here.
Moral of the story
Let motivation sit in the corner, and spend some time understanding why you run, or do the thing you do, instead. Action driven by a deep-rooted reason is like a wildfire. It consumes. It burns bright and wide, completely submerging its surroundings. It is relentless.
Establish your wildfire and you will be unstoppable.
Postface
Remember, we are only able to understand from our own level of perception. How you receive the message in this blog post might not be the way I intended you to. It was not written with the purpose of offending anyone.
It is merely how I interpret the way the world has chosen to go about motivation, and whilst I cannot assume you feel the same, I hope that you at least will feel inspired to curiously search for your own why, rather than purely rely and depend on motivation going forward.
Motivation is not all bad though. It can make us do great things, but the lack of it can mean that we miss out on incredible opportunities to grow.
* I am an advocate for the importance of listening to the body, so although I am very stubborn by nature, please know that I would never gamble with a potential long-term physical or mental exhaustion for the sake of a long run or training cycle.
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