Motivation, the reason, or reasons, one has for acting or behaving
in a particular way. The dictionary labels motivation as a noun. I
suppose it must be since it is a thing. If you ask people what
motivates them to exercise you will receive varied and interesting
responses. Almost everybody who is exercising because of somebody
else. For some the body is the temple of God. For others, it is to be
healthier and more active with family and friends. Being eye-candy
and feeling sexier were also mentioned.
The responses to this question seemed to involve being there for
others. This is a great motivator particularly when those others are
your immediate family. I come up with, find, and commit to working
out for my family, eye-candy for my wife, general eye-candy, and ego
as being excellent motivators. I am also competitive and want to be
able to go at lest as far, as fast, and as hard core as people half
my age. But, getting to this point took re-framing my initial view of
working out.
Motivation is great for the initial jump. It is the kick in the
guts that really gets us moving on a run schedule. But, motivation,
like fires, will burn out. What happens next? What do you do? You dig
deeper and find dedication.
Dedication is defined as being dedicated to a cause or an
activity. Dedicated is being devoted, single-mindedly, to a goal or
purpose; allocating time, energy, and all other needed resources to a
particular goal, purpose, or service. Dedication to yourself is the
key.
Dedication is everywhere in our lives. We are dedicated to a
project at work. We are dedicated to our children. We are dedicated
to our friends and family and they are dedicated to us. In fitness,
as in any other aspect of your life, you must take care of yourself.
You must first love yourself. Then, you can take care of yourself.
Dedication requires courage. The bottom line here is courage.
Motivation and dedication vital to the formula, but without courage
it will all fall apart.
The kind of courage that I am talking
about is from love, not just being afraid to do something and doing
it anyway. The kind of courage that this takes is what the Greeks
wrote about. What they held dear in their heroes and legends. The
kind of stuff that writers of legend and lore like Homer from the age
of lyric wrote about. The great endurance embodied in his heroes. A
driving will to resist obstacles that were thrown into his path at
every turn can inspire us today. Some days we feel like we need that.
This will to continue, this kind of endurance, is not just for the
outward enemies that Homer wrote about or that veterans of all wars
have.
This will, this
inner strength, this courage, is aimed at inward passions and
misfortune in general as well as the outside elements. These
intangible enemies can be just as deadly and destructive as any met
on beachheads and mountainsides. The courage, the heart to keep going
forward at home, with family and, especially, inside oneself is the
hardest courage to find on most days. But, it is the type that you
already have and live every day whether you know it or not.
Above, we mentioned
your family and friends. You do almost everything for them and they
for you. No questions asked. Well, there are the occasional, “Are
you out of your mind?!”
questions and looks. Still, by and large, there is a core group that
falls into the You-Call-I-Haul category.
Now,
show yourself this kind of courage and dedication. Seriously. Many of
us have a difficult time doing this. If someone you trust and love is
willing to do that for you, aren't you worth doing it for yourself?
This
is ironness of heart, from the Oddyssey and the Illiad. This ironness
is love. That is what drives us to greater achievements than any
mindset alone ever could. It was no mindset by which Shakespeare
wrote any sonnet. It was by no mindset that a squad member or platoon
member ever ran back into a hail of gunfire and explosions to grab a
wounded buddy. No, these were done from the heart, out of love.
Courage, from love, is what gives the true warrior his heart. Love is
what makes a mother such a formidable force.
Bottom
line? Love yourself enough to invest the blood, sweat, and tears into
you that you would invest in your family or battle buddies without a
second thought.
Love
your self enough to go that extra mile. To get to the gym even though
you really don't feel
like it. You show strength in the face of great pain or grief for
your children. Now do it for you.
It's
95+ degrees outside. I am going to the track to do my push ups, pull
ups, sit ups, squats, and other aerobic training. I am going to do
this because I want to
be there for the people who need me. That list starts with Me and my
Family.
What
is your courage?
Yes, getting moving, getting the heart beating, having some
time outside in the fresh air all help. Were you aware that exercising also helps your brain create new brain
cells? It sure does. There is an exhibit at the Maryland Science Center, a fantastic place to go if you’re in that
area, which demonstrates this very nicely. I saw it several years ago and was
told that the exhibit was one of the Center’s permanent displays. At any rate,
strenuous activity actually makes you smarter. It builds your brain while
building your body.
