One day last week a client of mine came to hear appointment at the studio early. I was just in the midst of finishing my own work out. She came in with the wonderful energy she always seems to and said “ I am so glad you are working out, that is exactly what I wanted to ask you about, What keeps you so motivated to do what you do every day and still find the drive to work out and push yourself to the edge?”
My answer was this. Everyone of us has different ways of thinking and analyzing life ourselves and definitely our exercise routines. I believe we have two types of Motivation, one is internal and one is External. To explain what my version of Internal Motivation is would be two fold. Someone can create their own internal motivation just through thought. They need nothing or no one to help them get what ever it is they need to get done whether it is a work out or something else they may need a little push on. These are driven individuals who are usually not externally effected, meaning they are very confident in who they are and where they are in life as well as an individual. Different things drive different people. For myself I have something that has always been instilled in me from a child to drive and push myself because one of two things. First nobody is going to do it for you… Second nobody may even care after it is done. Therefore you will need to be able to be satisfied internally to some degree in order to create some self-fulfillment.
In terms of external Motivation this is using something or someone to drive you to make the choices and decisions you make around everything in your life. People who are Externally motivated use things like people and things to help them get through times where they probably would not make the decision to say work out or go to a yoga class without having a friend push them or and instructor for that matter. I think we are all somewhat Externally Motivated to some degree, as always I feel it is healthy to have a balance between the two. I personally use both I think this is what has worked for me in order to be consistent for so long. I think it would be naive to say we all do not use external factors to motivate and weigh in our decisions entirely. Just as much as someone telling you, you look good, or you looking in the mirror or getting on the scale. These are all examples of external motivators that help drive us to make certain decisions.
Let me tell you a little secret though, if you solely rely on these external factors. Eventually you will be waiting for someone to say good job you, look great, congratulations all of your hard work has paid off. What will when these things are not there for you, will you have enough drive to motivate yourself to still continue on your journey? This is one reason why so many people fail I believe. We put all our eggs in one basket! In order to create balance and be whole we must create balance everywhere, not just in the physical work but also in the mental work as well.
This is one of the main reasons we teach that the number one foundational principle of health is your thoughts. They will take you as far as you want to go and they will also hold you back more than you will ever know. Be choosy with them for your life will follow each and everyone of them collectively.
Now that you know a huge downfall for achieving your goals can be setting yourself up by only being motivated by external factors, you can start working on what motivates you from the inside out. A great way to start this would be to really identify within yourself what drives you to do what you do. Yes as always I am asking you to actually spend some time with yourself and by yourself in order to determine what it is you want and what it is that will ultimately get you there. Bottom line most of us do not want to miss that next class or work out. Sometimes if we take a few moments to understand what is the driving force that will motivate you for months and years to come the few work outs you miss will become a thought of the past.
Always take some time to determine who you are where you are and why you are going there. Getting to know you can be fearful. But the only thing I know that is worse is never getting the opportunity to explore what is inside as well as out. Just as much as we all have certain physical limitations and boundaries, these are merely mirror images of what is inside of us. The things we manifest in our thoughts may become the very things we fight and struggle with mentally. Take time to understand what makes you tick and I guarantee you will keep on ticking much farther than you thought you would. Remember to enjoy every moment and think about what you want rather than what you do not, this will take you beyond any class or words from others.
Have a wonderful day!
Yahete
Ryan
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