We have long since left the summer behind, it was fun while it lasted. A little too much fun if I consider what has happened to my fitness! Time to get back to it, or so I thought. About 10 days ago I resolved to get back into working out, running, eating better and drinking less. Having made multiple attempts at getting back into better habits, I have learned that the older we get the more difficult it becomes, the quicker we lose our conditioning. Being somewhat impatient, when it comes to getting back to working out, I have often gone too hard, too fast, and ended up paying for it for several days… DOMS is real!
Now, I am taking a different approach, I am recognising that I am not as well-conditioned as I once was, and that being older I am going to take a little longer that my younger self may have done to get back to where I know I can be. Slower and more steady will win this race.
Well, day 1 went fine. I resolved to gradually build back up to full speed. The workout went well, I didn’t get that dreaded DOMS in the days that followed, and I was in good spirits. Then I got ill. This came with a serious lack of energy and, alongside that, a severe drop in motivation.
Whilst I am largely back firing on all cylinders, I did feel a lack of motivation and energy today on a call with my coach. During our conversation, he asked me what motivation is, and where I got my energy from? As we talked this through he noted that according to American author and speaker Steven Chandler, “motivation follows action, not the other way around.” Furthermore, Chandler advises that we focus on creating energy rather than trying to find motivation.
Another project I am working on at the moment is writing a book of quotes, and exploring their meaning and the insights that we can take from them. I have set myself a 12 month timeframe and have made a good start to this. As I produce each write up it is loaded into a working version, which is viewable online. I recently sent the link to a good friend of mine. His feedback gave me a nice warm feeling as he related how one of the quotes had already made a difference to his family as they reviewed it over dinner one night. This feedback certainly got me motivated to keep going. I had shared this feedback previously with my coach, and during our conversation today, he asked me how it had made me feel. Reflecting on those feelings I immediately noticed a shift in my energy levels, and my motivation to shake off the lethargy of the last few days started to blossom – hence me writing this blog entry after a number of months since my last one. As I am writing, I am feeling all manner of ideas bubbling up and my motivation increasing.
It looks to me right now that Steven Chandler is correct – create energy, take action and the motivation to continue comes. Thanks to my coach, I got out of the funk I was in. Working with a coach can work wonders for each of us – if you’d like to explore working with me then get in touch.
Patrick Hickman 