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Interesting topic. I was actually pondering the nature of motivation the other day, when I was 30 minutes in to a run and wonder why I was forcing myself to do it.

I know this will sound a bit cynical, but I postulate that the root of all motivation is either fear, or greed.

I don't think fear is an amazing motivator.

I partly agree. I think extrinsic fear - fear of some external threat - is the lowest form of motivation, as it only last as long as the threat is present. Being afraid of getting beat up in your tough neighborhood can be quite motivating, until you move out to the peaceful suburbs - then quickly get comfortable and fat. Being afraid of losing a girlfriend only last as long as she is a threat to leave. You get married, both decide you are sticking with each other - and quickly get comfortable and fat. I personally know a couple of ex-military guys who trained out of fear of losing their job - and when they left the military, guess what happened? I love that @Bro Mo saw it coming, and did something about it:

Same thing happened to me so I quit my job and pursued a different one that has a need for fitness.

But intrinsic fear - essentially a fear of failing yourself - can be extremely motivating and persistent. Anyone who says they are training for longevity is, in essence, motivated by fear. Fear of frailty. Fear of losing their quality of life. To liberally paraphrase @Al Ciampa , fear of having to rely on someone else to wipe your backside. This type of fear can be very powerful, and I submit that it is not at all a bad thing to be driven by this sort of fear. Part of what drives me is absolutely a fear that, one day I might be called upon, and find myself unequal to the task.

I think competing in something provides a guiding light well too. Maybe that's a martial art, powerlifting, the TSC, triathlons, etc but the competitive spirit is much more powerful than just a hobby.

I wholeheartedly agree - and this is essentially motivation based on greed.

Here again, there is a huge difference between extrinsic greed and intrinsic greed. Extrinsic greed - the desire to defeat others, to be raised above them - is in general a poor motivator, simply because most of us simply do not have the talent to maintain it. And often, a person driven by extrinsic greed is just not that nice to be around.

Personal example; I was a competitive athlete through high school and college. I high school, I was a big deal, and racking up wins to prove my own greatness was absolutely motivating. In college, I was good - but not in the top tier. Winning could no longer be motivation, it simply wasn't in my reach. So I had to find other motivation.

But intrinsic motivation - being able to take pride in your accomplishments, regardless of how they compare to the next man - I would say is the greatest motivator of all. It is also the most difficult to find, and to maintain. It takes great strength of mind to be able to be proud of what you do, particularly as you discover your own limits, and potentially watch others exceed them. @Mike Sousa SFGTL , @Chrisdavisjr and @offwidth all touch upon this in the form on mindset and process... but I doubt this can be taught, per se. I think it is an acquired wisdom.

I will admit that I struggle with this still. Despite having learned much about where my limits are... extrinsic greed is still most certainly a part of my motivation. I do take pride in being stronger than most, and sometimes that leads me down the road of being stupid. But I'm learning.

I think that you should find a way to exercise that you actually enjoy. So that you do it as an end in itself, without any extrinsic goals.

Absolutely! If you can find a pursuit that you trule enjoy, you don't actually need motivation, at least most of the time. We don't need motivation to eat bacon. We do it because it's delicious.
 
I like to use an analogy of a time I was on my way to work and in the middle of three lanes with cruise control on. The car that came on the freeway in the right lane simply based their speed off mine. When it came time for me to exit, I slowed so i could change lanes behind the person in the right. They slowed as I slowed because they were focused on keeping speed with surrounding traffic. Ultimately we were both going slow and I couldn't change lanes and missed my exit because we were headed to different places and benchmarking externally.

Benchmarking performance on anyone but yourself will lead to disappointment and missing goals/exits.
 
I know this will sound a bit cynical, but I postulate that the root of all motivation is either fear, or greed.
Just keep thinking about the insight in the entire post above. There is a scene in the remake of the movie IT. All the kids are considering moving away and just staying away from the town to avoid the clown(fear). However, one of the girls makes a distinction that she wants to spend her life running toward something rather than running away from something.

I would argue a life of running away isn't even a life. Kohlberg's levels of moral development work through
  1. Avoiding punishment (fear)
  2. Obtaining benefit (greed)
  3. Underlying principle (??)
I'm not sure what that underlying principle for training would be but if you're able to find it, nirvana probably comes shortly after. Perhaps just connecting and bonding with other trainees has no purpose of fear or greed and simply results in the purpose of life being mutual shared experience.
 
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I'm not sure what that underlying principle for training would be but if you're able to find it, nirvana probably comes shortly after. Perhaps just connecting and bonding with other trainees has no purpose of fear or greed and simply results in the purpose of life being mutual shared experience.

I think this is what brother @Antti pointed to - training for the love of training. Then you are simply doing what you love - not preparing for or avoiding something else. What could be closer to nirvana than simply doing what you love for it's own sake?

I honestly think that anybody who thinks about training as much as folks around here do has already got a partial grasp of that concept- then it's just a matter of somehow letting go of the fear/greed pursuits. I am admittedly not ready. Still definitely a flesh-and-blood meathead myself.
 
I don't know if a goal is need per se, some sort of reason must be involved in any non-passive activity.

I feel better when I train - I may have some chemical imbalance or compulsive need for the chemicals released by training with intensity.

I understand the cause and effect and have body image expectations that go back to my teens (I blame mostly Frazetta and James Bama).

I understand the corrosive effect of time and gravity on sedentary folk, and cannot passively accept the consequences of inaction.

I guess all of these qualify as goals, but none are clearly defined.
 
Hi @erwin : have you ever considered choking people and breaking their limbs as a pastime? :) I highly recommend trying something like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or Combat Sambo. Not only will it get you in shape, but you might find yourself falling in love ... (Or your might not, but you won't know unless you try).

Personally, I have always found "working out" a chore, but that was not the case with grappling - it's too much fun and too addictive. And the joy of learning something new every day, and being able to see it in application is one of the greatest rewards of grappling.

The mat is an amazing place for self development.
 
Thanks guys for the input, I have read all.

I have been thinking a lot lately and have come to the conclusion that I always put a lot of pressure on myself and that only an increase means success for me. This leads to the fact that during the day I already think about whether I will manage to improve again or whether I will fail.

@marcelotine I dont like to fight.
 
only an increase means success for me

I think this is very common among people who train. Staying the same is not good enough.

Obviously it's something that we have to deal with differently as we grow older. I know that, in many ways, I'll never be as strong as I was in my 20s, and it would be easy to say "why bother trying". But, in some ways, I am stronger, and that helps keep me going. 20-something me had a huge power clean, but couldn't do a proper pullup.

That's one of the ways I've learned to cope - looking for new directions to improve in, being able to do new things I couldn't do before. Can I develop running endurance but still be strong? Can I become a decent obstacle course racer? A better volleyball player? Can I get flexible? Chasing a wide variety of goals means that I'm not going to be exceptional in any of them, of course, but it gives me lots of chances to get little tastes of improvement. The trick is to be OK with not improving at everything. Celebrate the improvements you get, don't dwell on the ones you don't.

And, of course... eventually, even staying the same becomes a victory against old age. Best to keep improving as long as we can before that happens.
 
I'm late to the party, but I still want to throw in on the conversation because it's a really interesting question.

I can only speak from my own experience, but I have two primary motivations for working out:
  1. Extrinsic: A desire to be approved of by other people
  2. Intrinsic: The fear of not being physically capable
I personally enjoy working out, but it's because I have a strong habit of working out (and the anticipation of reward that motivates us to follow through on habits). But the underlying motivations are those mentioned above.

It has been enjoyable reading how everyone motivates themselves. Even if the OP can't use any of this to help him in his life, he started a great conversation!
 
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