You set that goal. You’ve got that event you want to complete. Not only that, you want to do it well. You don’t want to finish last. You’ve got a clear vision of what it is you want to get out of it, how it feels, how awesome it would be. But here you are, it’s 5am, pissing down with rain and you’re supposed to be heading out in your trainers for a plod in the unforecast conditions, because that’s what the training schedule says. Bed seems much more appealing now right…?
The truth is, nobody, not me, certainly not professional athletes and not you, can feel 100% inspired all of the time. And it’s misguided to set out thinking you’ll be stoked to be part of the journey you’re on 100% of the time. It sets you up for dsiappointment, not success.
I went racing this weekend. The Mallory Park Age Group Celebration Cup to be precise. It was up in Leicestershire (basically the North from where I’m standing) and the journey is so long and my back is so broken, that I basically spent the whole weekend in the car and fulfilling my other career as a service station critic (Hopwood on the M42 is this weekend’s strong recommendation – 9/10. Would have been a 10 but they promised me a Ben & Jerry’s counter and there wasn’t one. Also they have three Starbucks. I feel like that’s too many). I did stop off for a swim at a disgusting Lido in Stroud (I think you need to clean your filters guys – that was worse than my paddling pool age 7), but otherwise, it was a long old journey up with a good number of stops for stretching, toilets and of course eating. But it was also a real challenge. Not just racing, which is always a challenge. This was difficult in a different way. I’ve had a busy week at work and I’ve also been dealing with an annoying niggle in my ankle after literally falling down a rabbit hole. It left me feeling a bit deflated. I was not at all motivated for this race.
I turned up. It was cold. The water was so brown I couldn’t see my own hand in front of my face and the silty, weedy bottom was a similar texture to that of a soggy shagpile carpet. Gross. But I made it there, did the race and came home. And enjoyed myself. 10th lady overall wasn’t too shabby for a little training outing. And that’s exactly why I did it. It’s rare I show up without a fire in my belly. But when I know I’m not going to get the best out of myself, it’s difficult to inject the same level of enthusiasm, because I compete to better MYSELF. But I saw this for what it was and saw the benefit to at least going through the motions of racing. It’s part of a bigger picture. The opportunity to test strategies, bike handling, positioning in the wind, running on my bruised ankle, what nutrition works and when.
And that’s just the thing. When you create a goal and a plan, you’re not always going to be “achieving”. Some days, you will literally just be executing the steps. At that point, you have to remember this is all just part of the plan and although the connection to the end goal may be tenuous or invisible to you at the time, you have to remember it was there for a reason when you made the plan. Follow through. Because you will look back and be glad you did it. And you will also feel more able to do it next time.
And here’s a handy tip for when you’re actually setting the goal; don’t just think about how amazing it will feel to get there, put the same amount of energy into imagining yourself dealing the setbacks, the tough stuff, the hard days, the lacing up your trainers at 0500 in the pouring rain, the heading to the gym after a long day just to get the weights time in, the skipping the Maccies drive through when you really want nuggets, because you’ve got something healthier at home.
You’re not always going to feel “motivated”, but if you start out by recognising what your motivation is and imagining yourself getting through the tough stuff, if you make a plan and vow to stick to it and go through the motions even when it feels like the last thing you want to do, you’ll achieve what you want to.
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