Let's make one thing perfectly clear.
I am not where I want to be.
There are so many people out there who seem to be incredible. Endlessly capable. Dedicated, gifted, driven, unquestionably unbreakable.
I am not that. But I want to be.
Occasionally, I can see glimpses of it in the things I do, on some level it must show. But I'm no where near where I want to be. But I'm going to make sure I work every single day to inch closer to putting myself in the same conversation.
This blog is about motivation. Self-discipline. Courage. Perseverance. Out-right refusal to give up. Pushing beyond what anyone else is even dreaming of doing.
I hope to be able to write about some of the ways I think about things, hopefully they'll be of benefit to someone out there. But I'll be identifying the army of bad-asses who are out there now, who have already lead the way, paying homage to their determination, sacrifice and willingness to suffer to achieve greatness.
So, this is the beginning. What follows is a piece I wrote not too long ago. I hope you enjoy.
MOTIVATION
People have often looked at me and say “I'm just not able to do what you do” or “How can you find the time, energy or willpower to do all this?”. I nearly always respond the same way, and that is that I am no different to anybody else. I simply choose to do these things. A choice made once or a hundred times a day that determines where I'm headed, where my efforts are focused and what I'm going to achieve.
Motivation is everywhere. Have you ever watched a movie where the hero challenges overwhelming odds and succeeds? Or found yourself struggling in the gym but then “your song” comes on and you get that burst of energy? It could even be deeper than that. Loved ones, friends, those you want to help and protect. These are all sources of motivation and I'd challenge anyone to show how they have nothing in life to serve as their motivation. If you have a mind, you can find motivation.
Personally, sure, I can relate to those sources of motivation above. But whether through continually developing and adding to my sources, or something altogether different, my greatest and most powerful “source” has always come from within me. It's not a particularly powerful thought or image, although I do use thoughts and imagery all the time. It's just a default mindset. As sure as I know I'll find some food to eat today, I know I'm going to be making progress to where I want to be.
Maybe I have an advantage. I've been involved in sports, fitness and coaching for as long as I can remember. Goal setting comes naturally. As such, my current goals look like this:
Weight Goal: 12st 7lbs
Run Goal: 20 miles
Pull Up Goal: 20
The deadline for the above is 21st July. My 32nd birthday. It's currently 10th March. That gives me 133 days. The above will be achieved by then. I don't have a single doubt about it. So it's less a question of “How do I get motivated?” and more a statement of fact - “I AM MOTIVATED!”. There's no off and on, no good days and bad days. There are 133 days. 133 days to success!
Later I'll talk a little about maintaining motivation when you have none, and while I firmly believe there are no good or bad days, I can definitely identify with those incredible days when you find you can jump out of bed early, feeling amazing about life, your mind is focused on your goals and you're drawn to get to work as soon as possible. When every single movement and thought seems to line up and work for you, that feeling of “You know what? I can do this!”.
If you've experienced this, and I sincerely hope everyone has at some point in life, you've might have referred to it as “being in the zone”. I wrote an assignment about this in university, although in Sport Psychology, this state is referred to as “Peak Flow”. I most likely scraped a passing grade with whatever I managed to submit for that essay. But the concept of “Peak Flow”, being in that “Zone”, is undoubtedly one of the most powerful concepts I have ever come across in my studies. If some genius manages to bottle and sell that stuff, then the world could be full of people achieving every crazy dream and goal and having a fantastic time whilst doing it!
Finding motivation in the moment is easily done. Find your music or movie and you'll feel unstoppable. At least for the moment. It's easy to find motivation when you're sitting at home, talking and thinking it through while you're sat on your sofa or lying in bed thinking of how you'll get a fresh start tomorrow.
But what about when it gets hard? When that “This sucks!” factor hits? When you've laced up your running shoes, you've run the first mile or so and then you're finding it hard to breathe? Motivation can go a long way, especially if you practice it just as much as you practice anything else, but it's in those moments when you're going to need to find something more. Something that is untouchable, unshakeable. I had that to a degree. But since discovering one of my more recent role models, Ex-Navy Seal and all around bad-ass David Goggins, my mentality and work ethic has drastically improved.
It's up to you to forge a mentality that will not stand for anything less than the absolute, unquestionable, guarantee of success. If you can't find that, maybe you should stop when you find it hard to breathe. Sit back on the sofa. Or you can find a way. It's up to you.
I mentioned briefly that I repeat certain phrases to myself when I'm training or doing anything requiring perseverance in order to dig out that bad-ass mentality. There are likely hundred that I have used in the past and there will likely be many more, but here are a few examples I use most often:
“Who's gonna carry the boats!?!?” - David Goggins
“Don't talk about it. Be about it.” - David Goggins
“You have to save your own life. No-one is gonna save it for you.” - Kai Greene
“How tall will a tree grow? As tall as it possibly can!” - Unknown
“What do you desire?” - Alan Watts
“I'm'a show you how great I am!!” - Muhammed Ali
Motivation comes and goes. With practice, it hangs around a little longer. But those “Peak Flow” moments are fleeting at best. Even some of the world's best and brightest are constantly looking to recreate that one day when everything just clicked. The likelihood is, that's just not going to happen.
I can imagine it's easy to look at people who achieve great things and consider that they're just built different. That it's not normal to be able to show that much willpower and consistency. Damn right it's not normal! And the only way to get beyond what every other person considers normal is to find a way to get there yourself.
You may have noticed that none of the quotes I included earlier come from me directly. I have several role models and people I look to and very little of what I do and who I am is original. To that end, I believe the inspiring words below go far beyond anything I could possibly say.
“Success”
Berton Braley
If you want a thing bad enough
To go out and fight for it,
To work day and night for it,
To give up your time and your peace and your sleep for it
If life seems empty and useless without it
And all that you scheme and dream is about it,
If you'll gladly sweat for it,
Fret for it,
Plan for it,
And lose all your terror of the opposition for it,
If you'll simply go after this thing that you want,
With all of your capacity,
Strength and sagacity,
Faith, hope and confidence and stern pertinacity,
If neither cold poverty, famished and gaunt,
Sickness nor pain
Of body or brain
Can turn your away from the thing that you want,
If dogged and grim you besiege and beset it,
YOU'LL GET IT!
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