On Motivation

A common question I get when talking about running ultra-marathons is "How do you stay motivated?". The answer, I don't. I'm going to let you in on a secret that is probably seems counter intuitive. Motivation is over hyped. It over sells and under delivers every time. Motivation is almost completely worthless. So, let's flesh out the problems with motivation then look at a more reliable way of achieving goals.

Motivation rarely comes when you need it.

Do you want to know when I'm most motivated to go for a run? I'm most motivated to go for a run when I'm sitting behind a desk at work and bored with the task I'm at hand. But I don't have the ability to sneak away from a run, and I know this. You want to know when I'm not motivated to go for a run? When I wake up early, or when I finally get home from work. When I have the time to go run, my motivation is nowhere to be found. Motivation doesn't come when I need it.

Motivation comes and goes quickly.

Occasionally I have an opening in my schedule and I feel motivated to run. I get all hyped up and imagine how many miles I'm going to cover. But by the time I get my shoes on and am out the door, that feeling is almost always gone. Motivation can come and go in a matter of minutes making it completely unreliable.

Motivation can act against you.

When it's time for me to run, I'm almost always motivated to sit on the couch and watch Netflix, or start making dinner, or go back to bed, or do anything else. I know that going for a run is going to benefit me more in the long run than any of the alternatives, but my motivation is shortsighted and hedonistic. I'm motivated to seek immediate satisfaction, not long term benefits.

Motivation builds tolerance.

But there's a ton of motivation online right? If you're feeling unmotivated, you just have to pull up that video of Jocko and he'll kick your ass into gear. And that's true, for a while. But just like everything else, a tolerance builds. A message may be incredibly motivational the first time it's heard. But listen to that message a hundred times and tell me how called to action you are. Even messages from incredibly motivational people like Jocko, get watered down with over use

Motivation alone gets you nowhere.

Most of all motivation means nothing without action. You can be the most motivated person in the world, but unless you act on that motivation, nothing happens.

Discipline accomplishes goals.

Being disciplined means taking action no matter what. So when I really don't want to go for my runs, which, honestly, is most of the time, I let discipline take over. Discipline shows up when motivation is no where to be found. And if motivation and discipline show up together, all the better. Yes, being disciplined is a skill that needs to be cultivated. But building on discipline is a much more reliable path to success than on motivation.

Where is motivation effective?

In my opinion, motivation is only useful in one circumstance. Motivation is great to inspire a change and take the first step. If you've never been a runner but are thinking about starting, somebody like Cam Hanes may motivate you. Motivation allows you to reassess your current state and opens your eyes to all of the possibilities that lie in front of you. But after that initial inspiration, motivation is a disappointing tool to rely on.