Motivation is tough.
Know how I know?
On Friday, I sent out an email asking for people’s #1 struggle and while I got a lot of great responses…
The most common issue (by far) was motivation.
Now I’m not some self-help guy and I’m certainly not a therapist.
And I’ll be the first to say struggles with motivation are often better discussed with a qualified mental health professional.
But if you ask me, there are two things required for motivation.
Or at least two things I’m gonna talk about now.
There are probably more.
I don’t know.
Again – coach, not therapist.
Anyway…
First, you have to actually want the outcome you’re trying to achieve.
We spend so much time talking about “enjoying the process” and “loving the journey” – and just wait, I’m gonna do that in a minute – but you do actually have to want the thing you’re doing all that work to achieve.
We’ve all heard the story of some untrained person finishing a 100-miler.
Know how they did it?
They wanted it more than it sucked.
Now that’s not all that’s necessary, but it’s a lot of it.
All other things being equal, I’ll usually put a bet on the untrained person who really fucking wants it over the moderately trained person who’s there because their friend talked them into it.
Will the untrained person end up with broken feet and rhabdo?
Maybe.
But the other person is probably gonna drop out because they’ve already run 100k and it’s just… enough already. It’s dark and their stomach hurts and their feet are covered in blisters and it’s just… enough.
Now I want to be clear.
I’m not advocating for broken feet and rhabdo.
I’m pretty openly against both of those things.
All I’m saying is the person who’s willing to accidentally kill themself for a goal has a pretty decent chance of getting that goal.
Now you might be thinking… “Well shit… I don’t want it that bad.”
Great.
Neither do I.
Most people don’t.
But you still have to want it – at least a little bit.
So ask yourself… “Do I actually want the thing I’m doing all this work to achieve?”
If not, then the answer isn’t some witchcraft about motivation.
The answer is to pursue things you actually want.
Which brings me to point two…
You should probably enjoy most of your day-to-day training.
And when I say “most” I mean 70-90%.
I’ve never met anybody who truly enjoys 100% of it, but maybe it’ll happen some day.
Regardless, it should be well over half.
Meaning if every time you head out for a training run, the first thought that pops into your head is, “Ugh, I really don’t want to do this…” then that should be a clue.
Find something else to do.
Now will there be low points?
Sure.
Will some weeks be better than others?
Absolutely.
Will you probably have to do some activities you don’t actually enjoy?
Yea. That’s where the other 10-30% comes in.
And I’ll get back to that in about 5 lines.
But if it’s been a couple months and every training activity feels like a slog.
If every run just makes you question your existence and wonder why you’re doing this stupid sport…
Then you shouldn’t be asking, “How do I stay motivated?”
You should be asking yourself, “What activity should I try next?”
Now as I said, your chosen activity will probably require you to do things you don’t enjoy doing.
Maybe it’s strength work.
Maybe it’s stretching.
Maybe it’s fueling.
I don’t know… there seem to be endless things people find objectionable about training.
But they do them because if they don’t, then they don’t get to do the thing they love.
Or at the very least, they don’t get to do it well.
I don’t particularly enjoy dedicated core work.
Or calf training.
Or figuring out how much fuel I need for a long run.
I find those things tedious.
But I do them because they allow me to do the thing I actually enjoy.
Or at the very least, they allow me to do it better and with a lower risk for injury.
So yes, your chosen activity probably comes packaged with a few things you don’t actually enjoy.
But if you find yourself dreading training more often than you’re looking forward to it…
Then you should probably start trying some other activities.
In the end, motivation is tough.
It’s hard to know whether you’re just in a slump or whether you actually need to find a new thing.
But ask yourself a couple questions…
“Do I actually want to do the thing I’m trying to achieve?”
And “Do I actually enjoy most of my training?”
If not, I’d say give it a few weeks.
If it hasn’t gotten better…
Then it might be time to start pursuing something new.
Look, I know this is a weird email from a coach.
I know I’m supposed to tell you something inspirational or say something about discipline being more important than motivation.
And while I could do all that, it feels silly to me.
I’d much rather you pursue something you actually enjoy rather than try to convince you to love something you don’t.
Motivation is complicated.
Sometimes you really should just stick it out through the gray winter months and sometimes you have to do things you don’t love.
I get all that.
In fact, I wrote a whole email in that vein – all about slow progress still being progress and the importance of persistence.
(I’ll send it Wednesday.)
But life’s short and there are a million things to do.
So if you’re currently spending the majority of your time on things you don’t enjoy…
Then there should be a good fucking reason for that.
Just think about it.