Days like today get me super excited.
Why?
FALL is in the air.
That means crisp morning air, vibrant colored landscapes, and hot delicious coffee (any season, really, is coffee season…).
For many of us, that means that weekends at The Shore come to a close and long vacations in faraway places are now Instagram memories.
It might also mean that we need a new force to motivate us. No longer do we have the thought of the beach pulling us through those long sets of burpees or back squats.
But why look to external forces to find motivation? Why not instead look inward?
This summer has been one of intense self reflection. One of those ideas is shifting the lens of motivation.
Many of us are driven by extrinsic rewards. More attention, more money, more stuff. The potential trap of succumbing to this type of motivation is many fold. What happens when people no longer compliment you on how you look? What happens when you don’t make as much money? What happens when others don’t deem you “successful”?
In short, why be at the mercy of others for all of your hard work?
Now, this doesn’t mean that we stop accepting compliments or recognition. Instead, ask yourself what the intrinsic rewards of pursuing and achieving your goal are.
- Rediscovering the satisfaction of doing your best puts control of your happiness back in your hands.
- Knowing that your goal is ambitious gives your actions meaning and purpose; each step or rep is a reward in and of itself because you are tackling something beyond the norm.
- Recognizing that people’s judgements of you no longer matter because you are the final arbiter of your own performance. You accept yourself and the subsequent results because you know in your heart of hearts that you did your best.
If you do your best every day, heck, it’s only a matter of time until the goals you set become a reality.