What to do if you have no motivation...

I am an avid runner...I run 5 days a week on a good week and 3 on a not so good week. I am always looking to improve and so it motivates me to get outside in the rain, snow, heat, whatever.

Where does that motivation come from?!

Well this is a classic example of the difference between internal motivation annnd external motivation. Let me explain....

Internal motivation is the good vibes that come from inside of you. You may commonly hear people with internal motivation saying such key phrases as "I am doing it for me!!" ooorrr "I want this because it is important to me!!" This is the best kind of motivation its the very same motivation that gets you outside in a hurricane...ok maybe not a hurricane but mayyybeee just maaayybbeee a rain storm...why because YOU want it...simple as that.

External motivation is like a devil on your shoulder, this is the motivation that comes from forces outside yourself. You will commonly hear those with external motivation saying things like "I raced that race to beat Sally!!" ooorrr  "I am loosing weight because I have a reunion coming up and I want to look good!" Thus the motivation is coming from an outside source that is not yourself. BEWARE this motivation...it is short term and can get you in trouble. At first it may feel stronger then internal motivation but it is often the quickest way to burn out and become tired of your new behavior.

So for me, mastering the internal motivation was a tough one that I struggled with for many years...what changed you ask?!

Well i will tell you :)

I think the quickest way to go from external motivation to internal motivation is to dig down deep to the root of what you REALLY REALLY want...so for me, I REALLY REALLY wanted to reach my goals this season in my races. This resulted in me making short time specific goals that came from me, this tends to switch the motivation to internal rather then external.  For example, I want to run 8 min miles by July and I will achieve this by running 5 days a week using quality not quantity.

So every morning I wake up and I say, I set this goal, this is what I want, so its only mine to loose. This tends to get me out the door each day.

One exercise you can do if your having motivation issues getting out the door is to look at yourself in the mirror and say in your head or out loud, what do I want, do I really want this for me? If I do want this, what is keeping me from getting out there and achieving the goal? These topics also work well for journaling if the mirror makes you uncomfortable or your spouse is around to ask you what your doing...

Hopefully the answers that come from this exercise will help you to find that internal motivation you need to get out the door and achieve your goals!!!