Anyone that strives for anything needs motivation. That is certainly a blanket statement but it is important to remember. Motivation, the cousin of Momentum, can help you excel to another level and improve your performance beyond your current capabilities.
The reason I bring this up this week is a conversation I had with a fellow CrossFitter this week. She had been away all summer in NYC but has now returned to town to go back to school and, of course, get back into the CrossFit RTP scene again. I had been very confident this summer with my change in nutrition and gains I knew I had but it was a simple kind gesture and comment by her that helped keep me motivated. She said something along the lines of “You’ve really improved this summer…your deadlift has gotten much better…”. We all strive for our own internal motivation and “chip on the shoulder” mentality but often times, if we aren’t afraid to admit it, it is the compliments of our peers that can bring about additional motivation and that extra to reinforce all of the great work we’ve been doing.
I think many of us are capable of much more but it is generally the “negative talk” that we listen to and often follow…the “You can’t do this” or “You’ll never make it” appears to have a much greater impact on us than the positive reinforcement. What I have found through many years of listening to this negativity, often by others and my own internal doubts, is that there is no place for it. No need for it at all.
We need to focus on the positives and present an attitude that is positive to combat the negative but also fuel the motivation that we might be given by others to ultimately help us to that next level.
To end on a funny note, a classic scene that often gets lost in a classic movie, -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAs2PBL1RsA
Keep grinding!
Brian