Motivation and Excuses

A friend of mine had as her Facebook status the other day " what I do is a lot harder than it seems". I was tempted to write back "what I do is a lot easier than it seems". Huh?

I don't know how many times people have said to me "wow! You do (trapeze)(triathlon)(so much-juggling kids, work, etc.) I'm so impressed!". Really though, it's no big deal. I'm not special- not particularly athletic, and certainly not naturally so. I'm not a runner, swimmer, cyclist, gymnast or juggler in a younger life. Anyone can do what I do if they want to and if they stop making excuses.

Here's me: if I was a kid today, I'd probably have been diagnosed with ADHD. My mind just doesn't shut off easily, though a hard morning workout sure helps. I have the personality of an addict (once smoking, then food, now physical activity), and love living on the emotional edges. I'm not naturally athletic, and actually quite clumsy. And that's just for starters. I could add to that being a single mom who works 35+ hours a week, etc.

So I could go on and on about my limiters, adopt a woe is me attitude, come up with a dozen excuses about why I can't do what I "wish" I could do. What's the point? Does it make me any happier? Does it get me closer to what I want to do? Um, no.

I love how exercise quiets my mind, allows me to be in turn depressed and elated, love how trapeze and triathlon make me feel so alive. I'm pretty competitive and I love how these sports allow me to challenge myself and push myself.

So I want to get a sub 3:00:00 time at South Beach (and to be completely honest, those ridiculously audacious, a sub 2:45:00 time). I won't get that by whining that the swim is too hard, that I can't wake up before 5:30, that it's too cold/wet/windy/whatever out for a run, or whatever the challenge of the day is. The only way I'll get better is by showing up, doing the workouts, and doing them to the best of my ability. Finishing time on raceway is absolute; excuses make no difference.

And you know what? The hardest part really is just showing up, just starting a workout. Once I commit to it, I find that I really enjoy it, and when it's over not only do I feel happily tired, my mind quiet, but I can also self-congratulating that I managed to overcome the excuse of the day.

So, since sometimes it's hard to motivate, I keep a euphemistic drawerful of mantras or phrases around that I pull out as necessary. Here are a few:
You have only one life to live. Make it the best one.
"You are the only shadow in your sunlight" - Fabio, Top Chef
"Keep it honest"-Terrier Tri
"It's the constant and determined effort that breaks down all resistance, sweeps away all obstacles."-Claude Bistol
"The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible." Arthur C. Clarke
"The bold don't live forever but the timid don't live at all." -Marco Polo
Nickelback's "if today were your last day"