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Off-Topic What's your source of motivation?

@Elbront56 Do you have kids/family responsibilities? If not leave that job my friend life’s to short & in that sort of work environment time flies, you’ll blink & your prime years are done. I know it’s hard sometimes to change that stuff, but work occupies to much valuable time in life to be sucking life out of you. Best wishes mate.
 
It's a well-ingrained habit at this point, and intrinsically rewarding. I feel weird if I don't exercise. Not bad, just weird. I think being comfortable following SF training and following self-regulating programs has helped -- if I do miss a day or two due to illness, I don't have to hype myself up to get back into it, because I just pick up a bell or go outside and ruck for a bit and I'm back in the swing of things shortly.
 
I lost all my motivation due to multiple reasons, first, stress at work, incredible marathons in IT thanks to our beloved environment that people think it's just working sitting on a desk, but I guess I'm not the only one.
It's one of the worst environments with tons of hours spent and high speed of execution, if you don't keep up you get fired...
This company has put me so down that not even a strong coffe and redbull could lift me + 30s cold shower...
Now I feel better and in somehow I made it, or probably I got used to it which is probably worst, the problem is that I lost motivation in training, every time I need to train myself, I just can't do it...
I always have been high performance in many sports, competitions etc, but since years I don't compete anymore and it has been only a roll down the hill............

Well what to say, I'll check this post better later, hopefully it gives me some boost... Thanks for sharing.
After 20+ years in large-company IT... i finally got out..... much happier outside.
 
@Elbront56 sorry work life is that s***ty bro. I agree with everyone else you need to find another job, but I know how difficult that can be in niche fields. My job can be pretty s***ty and I have found that if I let my mental/physical health slip because of work, I tend to spiral and end up much worse. It’s difficult to stay on it when you feel like you have an anchor tied to your neck, but you gotta push through for yourself.

If you need a third party to give your resume a once over, PM me and I’ll send you my email.
 
Bumped into a relevant theme in an old diary regarding source of motivation, its an old idea, a bit simplistic, but worth repeating if anybody hasn't seen it before.

Instead of visualising an end goal i.e. " I can now press 32kg" focus on the process "I practice pressing 3 times a week" and give yourself a pat on the back for completing the daily process instead of when you achieve the far distant target.

Some authors of books use this technique ie
Author A : "I write a page of my new book every day"
Author B: "It is December 2023 and I have now completed my new book"

People like Author A get to feel good about themselves every day after they complete the single page, and will probably finish the book
People like Author B can end up getting to December 2023 without even starting to write their new book, and then feel awful about it. They have also missed out on the small but constant stream of self congratulation feeling good for just turning up and regularly practising.

Fits in nicely with GTG, Easy Strength and "Strength is a Skill that you Practice"

and yes ........... there is a bit of conflict between my previously stated goal of wanting to achieve various "standards" and this approach, I think both can coexist to some extent.

This worked to get me down from 92 to 78 kg a couple of years ago
 
My source of motivation is to keep learning and growing. I believe that the best way to stay motivated is to set goals and work towards achieving them. By challenging myself, I can stretch my boundaries and become more successful.
 
I've had several discussions with folks I know about training, of late, and they go like this:

"I wish I was as disciplined as you, but..."
Or
"I just need someone to do this with.."
Or
"I can't get started..."
#1 “as disciplined as you…” is not the same as 2-3.

#2 and #3 are excuses.

You either want to do it or you don’t and if you do you’ll find a way. The motivation comes from within. We may think that we know why it exists but I’m not sure that we do.

#1 doesn’t want to do it and describes their condition to you.
 
#1 “as disciplined as you…” is not the same as 2-3.

#2 and #3 are excuses.

You either want to do it or you don’t and if you do you’ll find a way. The motivation comes from within. We may think that we know why it exists but I’m not sure that we do.

#1 doesn’t want to do it and describes their condition to you.
Very good post: spot on.

Training, especially hard training, isn’t easy and isn’t always fun. It obviously isn’t for everyone. People either don’t have the focus/maturity to stick with a program or try to do too much too soon. They complain that “it’s boring.” They’re frustrated because they can’t do in a few months what has taken years and years for the guys and gals they look up to. Or else training is a “chore” to be tolerated.

Yes, life gets in everyone’s way. But, like every other endeavor, if training is important the trainee will find a way to get it done. It might not be an optimum session due to time or equipment restraints, but it’s still a step forward and a psychological boost in that it reinforces the “get ‘er done” mindset. And the momentum those small steps generates make the succeeding steps more automatic. Call it what you want, it comes from within. Others certainly inspire, guide, and otherwise help us, but we motivate ourselves.
 
There is a book I've read that could be relevant to this topic
"Tiny Habits" by B J Fogg not to be confused with Atomic Habits by James Clear who summarised the writings of Fogg and others

The central idea is similar to GTG (Every time I go up the stairs I do 5 pullups)
ie "When I get out of bed in the morning I do XYZ" "Every time I walk through the front door I do ABC" "Before I start the car I do 3 squats"
XYZ ABC etc etc are initially easy and trivial things to do like touch toes or 3 pushups but it are slowly built into strong significant habits

Its helped me, and maybe worth a look if anyone is struggling to build a constant exercise habit.
 
I was overweight as a teenager, I have experienced back pain, I used to have bad posture… I knew I should do something about it, but I didn’t enjoy going to gym, because of all the hassle to get there etc. Discovering the kettlebell was a big thing. Something I could practise home, hit the shower and be done in basically same time it would take me to get to the gym.

Now I have fixed my issues and training is a habit. It’s just something I do and have to do to keep my body in somewhat decent shape. I don’t always feel like going to shower or brushin my teeth, but of course I do anyway. Training is the same. I train because I don’t want to have issues due to not training, not because I want to hit a certain number in a certain lift or have a sixpack or something..,
 
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As I get deeper into middle age being strong enough for a good quality of life for as long as possible, enjoying my hobbies of jiujitsu and Muay Thai as well as getting back into other hobbies like surfing and gym climbing.
 
People either don’t have the focus/maturity to stick with a program or try to do too much too soon.
DNA

Dr Jason Curis' research determine that Motiviation is to a large extent in your DNA.

Post 15

Curtis broke it down into three groups.

1) Highly Motivated Indivuals

The issue with this group may have too much. They tend to overdoing it.

2) Quazi-Motivated

They lack the drive of of the Highly Motivated.

However, they have enough motiviation to show up.

They respone well to working with a Personal Trainer or a Training Partner that encourager and pushs them.

3) The UnMotivatable
This group starts thing but cannot maintain it.

As per...
The motivation comes from within.
As per Pavel...

"Over the years people have ask me why I don't offer motivation tips. We are all adults here: either you have it or you don't."

it comes from within.

Self Motivation

Yes, it come from within
 
You can't motivate others, but you can help them remove obstacles.

Often times we see people have a lack of motivation. In reality they have a desire and enough motivation to get started or continue, but they have numerous logistical, mental, or life blocks in their way that makes the task monumentally harder than it is for those of us who have the well-worn path already.

Sometimes asking, really listening to what they say, and offering help in problem-solving is all they really need.
 
help them remove obstacles.... offering help in problem-solving is all they really need.

Reality

I realize that your are kind hearted and like to help others,

However, the reality is the some individual cannot be helped.

UnMotivatable

Individuals who fall into this area don't have it in their DNA and never will.

These individual will always have excuses (obsticales and problems) that are constantly manifested

It is like playing Wack-A-Mole. As soon as your provide a solution to one obstacle or problem, they find another

As per Pavel...

"Over the years people have ask me why I don't offer motivation tips. We are all adults here:
either you have it or you don't."

Medical Triage

Think of life like Medical Triage on a battlefield.

Some individual cannot be saved.

Better result and time are investeded saving the who can be save; The Quazi-Motivated.

They have enough motivation to show up. They respond to encouragement. They do well if they have a Personal Trainer or a Training Partner who stimulates them and push them.
 
Reality

I realize that your are kind hearted and like to help others,

However, the reality is the some individual cannot be helped.

UnMotivatable

Individuals who fall into this area don't have it in their DNA and never will.

These individual will always have excuses (obsticales and problems) that are constantly manifested

It is like playing Wack-A-Mole. As soon as your provide a solution to one obstacle or problem, they find another

As per Pavel...

"Over the years people have ask me why I don't offer motivation tips. We are all adults here:
either you have it or you don't."

Medical Triage

Think of life like Medical Triage on a battlefield.

Some individual cannot be saved.

Better result and time are investeded saving the who can be save; The Quazi-Motivated.

They have enough motivation to show up. They respond to encouragement. They do well if they have a Personal Trainer or a Training Partner who stimulates them and push them.
Perhaps persevering despite the low probability of success will provide support in other ways.
Ultimately leading to that euphoric Rocky IV moment; "if I can change, and you can change, everybody can change!"
 
Think of life like Medical Triage on a battlefield.

Some individual cannot be saved.

Better result and time are investeded saving the who can be save; The Quazi-Motivated.

They have enough motivation to show up. They respond to encouragement. They do well if they have a Personal Trainer or a Training Partner who stimulates them and push them.

Very true.

Even then, with the Quazi-Motivated, it's an uphill battle. I worked for two years as a personal trainer for hire from 2017-2019 at the military base where I work as an IT contractor (still doing that work full time, but working from home now). I am glad I did it, and I learned a lot. However it was definitely not worth the effort monetarily, and even these individuals who were motivated enough to hire a personal trainer were not always the most fun to work with. Generally this arrangement didn't tend to bring me the type of students that I wanted: those who wanted to learn how to train for strength. Most of them just wanted someone to lead them through a workout or pass a PT test or help them lose weight. About half of them would cancel appointments, and they just wanted me to give them a workout to do (vs. teaching them how to train so they could do it on their own), and they wanted quick results without changing other lifestyle factors. Fortunately the other half were more satisfying to work with and I was able to have some good experiences.

It made me realize a few things - what I really love to do is answer questions to help a highly motivated person past a mental block or give them information that helps facilitate a greater understanding. Hence why I've been on this forum for almost 9 years. Also, it's a mindset shift away from mainstream fitness that is needed the most, for most people. I was gifted that mindset shift when @Al Ciampa passed along his knowledge in the form of training classes and a PT manual. It really made me think about training differently, and led me here, which has led me to continue to be a "student of strength." But I have yet to find a way to bring that mindset shift to people in a short-cut... most people didn't see it even with exposure to the same information from Al that I had. It takes a certain willingless to see things differently, along with a wise mentor to facilitate the process of gaining that new understanding.

And lastly, that just being a steady example is a way to bring value to others. It illuminates the possible path that they may choose to follow someday.

Perhaps persevering despite the low probability of success will provide support in other ways.
Ultimately leading to that euphoric Rocky IV moment; "if I can change, and you can change, everybody can change!"
Exactly!
 
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