Tag Archives: motivation

Early mornings

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I’m in a bit of a rut. I get up early enough, but my usual morning routine has slowed down and I’m finding myself in a rush to get to work every morning. It’s a slow creep of distractions and general laziness that’s pushing my usual routine into a speed round of getting everything in.

What I’ve recognized is that I’ve let a general slowness creep into my morning routine. I’m not avoiding anything, I’m just not getting to everything in a timely fashion. I’ve let my routine falter not by neglecting any one part of it, but by letting wasted time sneak in.

This would be fine if I wasn’t already going to bed earlier to make sure I wake up well rested, or if this happened on weekends when I have more time… but on workdays I need my tight routine to stay tight so that I’m not shortening my cardio times and rushing my workout sets. I already work on only one muscle group because I’m pressed for time, the last thing I need to do is squeeze the sets smaller and faster.

It’s an interesting realization that I’m still getting everything done but neither to the best of my ability nor in a way that makes me feel good about it. I end up feeling rushed and feeling like I’m underperforming, neither of which is a good way to start my day. It’s like I’m going through the motions and yet feeling less accomplished.

I’m going to pay more attention to my efficiency and my focus in the morning. I’m going to stare at the blank screen when unsure what to write, rather than seeking inspiration through distractions. I might even move my meditation before writing when I’m drawing a blank on what to write about. I’m going to lighten my reps and go higher volume so that I get re-used to more volume of weights in the morning.

It’s not what happens, it’s what you do that makes the difference, and what I’m doing now isn’t making the right kind of difference! So it’s time to adapt and get better. Because I can move away from this slow creep of distraction and off task behaviour in the morning I know I will start my day feeling a lot better, and a lot less rushed.

The thief or the drive?

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I’m listening to Mel Robins, ‘The LET THEM Theory’. One key idea that she shares is that of compassion and how we get jealous of other’s successes rather than letting them be successful and understanding that we can seek that same success too. I’m on Chapter 10, and while she hasn’t explicitly said this adage (yet?) I keep thinking of it: ‘Comparison is the thief of joy’.

Meanwhile, her message is that comparison should drive us to be better ourselves. This is admittedly harder to do than to say. Mel says,

“Using the Let Them Theory, you’ll be able to recognize when comparison hits, and you’ll understand that it’s trying to teach you something: Jealousy is a doorway to your future that just cracks open, and it’s your job to recognize when it happens and kick the door open and walk right through it. When you let other people lead the way, you’ll realize that beneath all the fear, and excuses, and time that you’ve wasted, there’s the life you’ve wanted all along. And right now, the only thing that is holding you back from taking control of your life are the excuses…”

So the question is, do we let comparisons steal our joy and diminish our drive, or do we use compassion as a motivation to maximize our beliefs that we can be successful too, and feed the drive to be better?

Do way stay jealous or do we let others’ successes help us find our own way to success?

A bad day of fishing…

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The saying goes, “A bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work.” It’s a good metaphor for a lot more than hobbies and employment.

“I don’t feel like working out.”

“I don’t really want to practice my musical instrument.”

“I don’t have anything to write about today.”

“It’s just a practice, I’ll skip and go to the game tomorrow.”

Do I want to do it right now? Hell no! Will I feel good if I get off my butt and do it? Absolutely!

Pick the battles that matter the most… not 7 at once, 2 or 3 max. Set an intention. Do it.

Why? Because a crappy ‘I just showed up’ workout is better than another skipped workout. And 15 minutes of practice or 250 words written are all examples of things that will make you feel far better after you’ve done them, rather than how you feel not doing them.

It’s a mental shift to move the metaphorical mindset from a bad day fishing to a bad day working out/practicing/writing feeling better than a good day not doing these things, because the payoff comes after the event. When you are fishing, even the last cast has potential. But when you are doing ‘the work’ (be it in the gym, on an instrument, or writing) it still feels like ‘the work’ and is not filled with the hope and promise of a big fish.

But doing the work, even on a bad day can surprise you. You might (totally unexpectedly) hit a personal best in the gym. You might play a chord combination that you’ve struggled with for weeks. You might pump out 1,000 words, or the best piece of writing you’ve done in a while. In other words you might just hook a big one. And realistically you might not, but still the act of doing anything is far more rewarding than doing nothing.

Skip another day and the only thing you’ll catch is the desire to skip again.

—

Here is some Monday motivation from Jocko Willink.

Habits and motivation

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I’ve got my weight vest on. However, I don’t want to get on the treadmill, which is why I’m wearing the vest. I want to crawl under my blankets and not think about having to shovel the driveway later.

But yesterday was a rest day and I refuse to be someone who misses two days in a row. My habit of regular exercise is part of my identity. Am I motivated right now? Hell no! Am I going to work out immediately after writing this? Absolutely!

Make your habits about who you are and not what you do… and you don’t need motivation… you just get it done.

Motivation versus Routines

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It’s definitely the holidays for me. The time is 10:19pm and I’m just starting my writing. I haven’t meditated yet, (and missed the last couple days), and haven’t worked out yet either. Why? I’m off of my routines and my morning habits are not getting done to start my day.

Although it was not a busy day, I did get some important errands done, and don’t feel like I wasted the day… but here I am feeling very little motivation to get a workout in. I will, but it feels like effort.

That’s the difference between good habits and routines versus motivation. When I have my routines set, writing just gets done. Workouts get done. Meditation gets done. Zero motivation needed.

But let my routines slip and suddenly everything gets harder to get started. And getting started is the hardest part. Some days I feel like crap and just go through the motions simply because that’s part of my routine. Some of those days continue to feel hard, but sometime the act of getting started is all I need to turn the day, or at least my mood, around.

Routines help me get started. No motivation required. And now it’s time to finish this and get started on my workout. I think I’ll do a walking meditation on my treadmill and that’s one less thing to have to motivate myself to do. The best thing I’ve ever done for my health and wellbeing has been the strict routines I’ve created to get my healthy living goals done. I just need to rethink how I maintain these routines over my holidays.

Workout buddy

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I work out at home. Getting up and just having to go to my basement with no commute time to and from the gym is great. There is minimal resistance, I have no excuse, and I I’ve averaged working out more than 6 days a week over this year. If I had to travel to a gym, I wouldn’t keep that average up.

That said, it’s awesome to do a workout with a buddy. There are added motivations to really push when: you have someone next to you working hard; you know that they will spot you if you are struggling; and, admittedly it’s just easier to push yourself when you’ve got an audience.

I am doing a week long trail at my buddy’s gym and went for a workout this morning. We did a chest workout. It was fast, and yet it was more comprehensive than what I do at home, and I worked harder than I usually do at home. Realizing this is making me rethink my workout schedule. I don’t want to pay monthly fees for a gym I rarely use, I also don’t want to disrupt my morning routine or wake up even earlier to add 30 minutes commute time to my routine.

Not sure I can get the best of both worlds, but for at least a couple more times in the next week, I hope I get to work out with a buddy!

Keeping with it

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Habit versus motivation: habits win.

I am lazing around on holiday. There’s nothing outwardly wrong with that, if only I could feel better about it. Yesterday my wife and I did a walk up a big hill in 33° weather (91° for my Fahrenheit friends). It was hard, but rewarding. I was impressed with my wife who had us jogging down the hill, when I would have chosen to walk.

Today it feels hotter, but I procrastinated all morning and now I still haven’t worked out yet and it’s mid afternoon. I have no idea what I’m going to do for a workout, but I know I’m going to work out… it’s just that my motivation in this heat is very low. Our tent is a steam room, too hot to stay in, and I’m sticking to the chair, sweaty, as I write this in the shade.

I have no problem working out regularly at home, it’s a habit. I wake up, start my morning routine, and before going to work I’ve worked out, meditated, and written my blog post. Meanwhile I’ve been here 3 nights, missed one workout, and didn’t blog or meditate until after 9pm 2-out-of-3 nights so far.

It’s simple: Habits are easy, motivation is hard.

I’ll need to figure out some new routines because I’m spending a good part of my holiday thinking about and avoiding things I usually get done before 7am. As for right now, I’m going to do a meditation and push myself to complete a workout despite the heat. I want it to hurt today, to motivate me to not wait until this time tomorrow. In the world of motivation I’ve learned that I prefer the stick to the carrot… the avoidance of pain rather than the promise of reward.

With good habits, I can just avoid the need for motivation altogether.

Persistence and Patience

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I like images and graphics that make you think, and especially ones that are motivating. But sometimes for the sake of an image trying to tell a story, another narrative can either be missed or take over from the intended message. That’s something that immediately occurred to me when I saw this ‘inspirational’ image.

To me, the intended message is that we always need to keep learning, but it suggests a uniformity of practice and process that’s just plain wrong. To the person who posted it, Steven Bartlett, the message was about relentless consistency. He said,

For anyone frustrated with how long something is taking you right now…

Remind yourself of this.

Relentless consistency is usually the answer. I’m not talking about a sprint, I’m talking multi-decade.

What’s one thing you do to remain consistent?

But that uniformity between LEARN and APPLY in the image really bugs me no matter what the intended message. While other commenters mentioned positive interpretations like, ‘Consistency is key’, and ‘Focus on the long game’, I commented:

I think my greatest learning is that application always takes longer than you think. Persistence needs to be tempered with patience.

I wish learning was that easy. I wish I could apply everything I learned so consistently and effortlessly. I can’t. And I don’t think anyone can. There are hours of practice, there are mistakes made, detours and distractions. There is never the consistency and uniformity off application of learning seen in the image.

Is the message of relentless consistency over a long period of time important? Absolutely! But I really think this image misses the mark in sharing what relentless consistency looks like. The hardest part of relentless consistency is when application of learning does not go smoothly and application of what you’ve learned takes months to accomplish. And yes, sure that also often means more learning, but the grunt work of making things work can often be the times when consistency really matters, and isn’t so evenly worked through as suggested in the image.

Persistence needs to be tempered with patience. If constant results and application of learning are expected, this will lead to disappointment and frustration… neither of which inspires consistency.

Norwegian Protocol

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I’m procrastinating. I should have got on the treadmill a couple hours ago, but I’m wasting time and avoiding it. Sundays have become my Norwegian Protocol days: 4-minutes running at the maximum speed that I can maintain for the full 4-minutes, followed by 3 minutes at a very slow walk to recover. It takes me 32 minutes because I start with a 4-minute warm up.

This is one of the best ways to improve Max VO₂, which is the maximum amount of oxygen that your body can absorb during exercise. This is a measure of aerobic fitness and has one of the highest correlations with health-span, meaning maintaining good health at an order age.

This is my tenth Sunday in a row that I am doing this. And today it’s messing with my mind. I know it’s only 16 minutes at my maximum speed. I know I’ll feel great when I’ve finished. But the idea right now of willingly stepping on that treadmill knowing that I’m gonna put myself through this is something I’m suffering with right now.

I need to get past this mind game I’m playing with myself. The reality is that when I played water polo almost every workout was harder than this. I am a crappy, inefficient swimmer, and I trained at a pretty high-level. What that means is every workout I was the last person in my lane; the last person to finish a swim set; and, I worked as hard or harder than anyone else in the pool. I know how to push my body hard… that’s what I have to remind myself as I get older.

Because I’m not on a team anymore, I’m not training with a group of people who I don’t want to let down. It’s just me. Me and this once a week push for a measly 16 minutes broken into 4 sets. This is my reminder that I know how to push, how to mentally psych myself up to do something hard.

However, right now I’m kicking myself for doing a quad and glute workout yesterday. My hip flexors are sore and I don’t want to get on that treadmill… and yet I will, so this procrastination delay is just torturing myself for no reason. It’s time to rip the metaphorical bandaid off and get my butt on the treadmill.

Norwegian Protocol, here I come!

___

*Update* – Protocol completed. First time that I’ve done all four sprints at 8.2MPH (7.31 Minute mile or 13.2KMH). But I’m not writing this update just to share that I pushed myself, I’m also sharing to make a point: I feel great now and the pain of procrastination wasn’t worth it! I gained nothing but mental anguish by delaying my workout.

Junuary

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It’s cold and rainy this morning. Some mornings I find it really hard to get out of bed. When I look out the window and I see the a sky that is so, ‘You shall not see where the sun is in the sky today for I shall block any light from seeping through my gloom’ grey… I just want to pull the cover over me until tomorrow morning.

The hardest part of living in Vancouver for me are days like this. I know November weather is going to suck. I know February weather is going to suck. But when June comes along and it feels like a cold, dark, damp January, I really wish I lived somewhere else.

I know that we had a very dry winter with minimal snow. I know we need more rain to help prevent forest fires. But dang, it’s June and I’d like to wake up to a bit of sunshine. Or, at least a hint that maybe at some point we’ll see the sun today.

Well that’s enough whining for today, time to get my butt in gear. Days like this I’m thankful that I have a daylight light on my office desk… it doesn’t just get used during the winter here.