Pure Motivation, Pure Results
[Also posted on CrossFit Genesis ]
I’ve had the pleasure of attending a couple of seminars where Brad Kearns was a speaker. One of his ideas that really resonates with me is that your best results come when your motivation is pure. When you train because you actually enjoy it and you’re not wrapped up in how you’ll perform at your next workout or event, you simply do better. You spending less energy fretting about performance and letting your body and mind just perform. Think back to school – when you got yourself all worked up about an exam in a subject you didn’t particularly enjoy, how did you do? Compare that to a subject you actually had a keen interest in. Did you even worry about those exams?
Do you worry about how you’ll perform in your next “Fran” or “Fight Gone Bad!”?
My best triathlon performance came when I told myself to just go and have fun. Prior to that, I had hired a coach who laid out a training program which I tried to follow for 6 or 8 months. I got myself wrapped up in my performance, missed workouts, worried more, missed more workouts, and the cycle continued until I showed up for the Auburn International Triathlon (and didn’t finish). I had psyched myself out and got so worked up about training that I didn’t actually train. After that, I took a little time off, got my head on straight, and just decided to have fun with it. Training came more naturally and my workouts became fun again. Fast forward one month to my performance at the San Jose International Triathlon where I still remember having a smile on my face for most of the race.
The next time you find yourself anxious about how you’ll perform on a workout or at an event, take a deep breath and remind yourself to just enjoy it.
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