Friday Thread: How do you psych yourself up?
One of the things I found the most interesting in what
shared with us in Wednesday’s interview was this, which came near the end:“I am not motivated to run all the time. I don't know anyone who can stay motivated forever. When I am staring at my shoes and struggling to put them on, I just remember why I am doing this.”
When I read that, I thought to myself, “yes — exactly this.” Even though I’ve been running since my mid-twenties (I’m 54 now), I still struggle with motivation sometimes.
The truth is, it comes and goes. Sometimes I’m motivated, sometimes I’m… just not. And that’s okay — by now, I’ve learned that a predilection toward inertia is just part of my makeup, something that’s going to surface from time to time for me.
So my question to you is, how do you keep your motivation up? How do you pump yourself up to get out there? — Terrell
Every race, whether it’s a 5K, 10K or a half, is for me, an opportunity to socialize. I care not for PRs or 1st, 2nd or 3rd, but as I have said before, I do my races (and my walks in between) to stay healthy. Once a race has started and I find myself tiring, I find another runner to pace with and distract me from my lack of energy. If runners aren’t around, I’ll focus on my music, finding another song that distracts me and gets me into a groove.
It’s not just running that we need to psyche ourselves for, it’s everything. Motivators for me include: the promise of coffee, the applause of my readers, the idea that somewhere on a bus route I’ll find a story to write.
An early-morning Zoom writing group gets me out of bed in the morning; contemplating gratitude gets me ready for sleep at night.
If you don’t have a motivator, time to create one. You might try prayer. Not to a particular deity or saint, just a conversation with the Universe.