Reawaken Yourself Endlessly

I came across the following passage today in Nicholas Lore's, The Pathfinder, that made me think about what I believe is the experience of many, if not all people on this fitness journey:

Living from purpose does not come easily. It's like driving home late at night and having to shake yourself awake again and again as you catch yourself dozing off... Living from a purpose seems strange at first. You will forget what you are up to thousands of times and have to continually re-create your commitment to your purpose. You quickly discover just how slippery your mind can be at returning to the same old used to be. (p.287)

I suspect that many folks think that motivation and inspiration are a one shot deal, that once acquired, the desire to bring it in the kitchen and on the mat must remain unchanged. When motivation abandons them, they become disheartened. When people express disappointment at their lack of motivation, I am always quick to say:

Motivation has nothing to do with whether you press play or not, with whether you eat clean or not. Commitment has everything to do with it.

If my fitness were to hinge on my desire to Bring it, I would not be in the current shape that I am in! It is no secret that I love margaritas, quesadillas, and burgers, but I know I can't splurge more than once a week! There are days--such as every day this week--that I simply do not feel like bringing it. But, I Bring it anyway!

I Bring it because I made the commitment over a year ago to get in the best shape of my life. Actually, the commitment was more to do what I had to do to get rid of my fat rolls. Once I made the commitment, I knew that there was no more room for excuses. End of story.

That said, there are steps we can take to "renew," as Lore writes, our commitment, our sense of purpose. I find it helpful to visit the photo gallery on the community forums, to stay connected to my friends there, to view the motivational movies before I begin my day (especially on days when I am feeling unmotivated), and to visualize the life and body that I want for myself. I do one or all of these things on a daily basis.

Does it sound like an awful lot of work to stay motivated? Maybe it is, I don't know, I don't really think about it. But, it works for me, and no one said this journey was always going to be easy.

But, is it worth it? Now, that's the real question. Absolutely!

Now, suck it up, and BRING IT!

Barbie, PhD