Motivation

It is an interesting and difficult condition to find oneself; to be human.  We humans are amazing things, powerful, adaptable, fearfully and wonderfully made we are.  To be sure, you don't have to look very far to find something incredible and miraculous about the human body.  But today I want to talk about what we don't see in photographs, medical charts, or on the TV.  I want to talk about a dimension of humanity that rarely get's any attention at all actually.  I want to talk about the world of thoughts.

"Yes, humanity surges with uncontrolled passion, is tumultuous with ungoverned greif, is blown about by anxiety and doubt.  Only the wise man, only he whose thoughts are controlled and purified, makes the winds and the storms of the soul obey him." - As a man thinketh

You can achieve your greatest dreams, or suffer your worst nightmares, simply by choosing or not choosing what you allow to occupy your mind on a daily basis.   Take being motivated as an example.  Do you always feel like working out?  Are you constantly and ceaselessly looking forward to your next run or bike?  Do you wake up on swim days overjoyed to be getting up early to go swimming?  Not always, but sometimes you do.  Probably more frequently at the beginning.  When I first started training for the IM, i was jacked!  You could have woke me up at 3 am and I would have been excited!  I was ready to go man!  I was motivated, excited, my butt was burning to get it done!  Relationships start out this way too, when you first meet and fall in love and you think everything is perfect.  You can barely think of anything but the other person and when you finally see each other again you jump on each other as if it's been 10 years!!  New jobs too, feel this way, though not so intensely.  Truthfully, most 'new' things start out with a flash of passion, this flair can carry you a good deal into a project or goal, and it is a great feeling and is a great place to be, but truthfully, it does not last.  Even on shorter projects it probably won't carry you all the way to the finish line.  Which is why you have to develop disciplin and careful planning.  Management of your mind and emotions are required.

Do your planning and your mapping of the course while your excited!  Plan out your next date with your wife when you feel overjoyed to be married.  But when the feeling fades, don't give up on the event!  Do it anyway!  Schedule your workouts when you are jazzed about your goals, but if you loose that jazz two days later, do the workouts none the less!!  So many people let themselves be jerked around by the winds of their emotions and as a result, never actually end up getting anywhere!  it's left, then right, then happy, then sad, then workout like mad, then lazy.  This is what the average person does!  All the time!  You know it's true without me even saying it!  The problem is, that the only thing average and ordinary will get you, is average, and ordinary.  You are fearfully and wonderfully made for crying out loud!!  Average isn't in your blood!!

"Tempest-tossed souls, wherever ye may be, under whatsoever conditions ye may live, know this--in the ocean of life the isles of Blessedness are smiling, and the sunny shore of your ideal awaits your coming.  Keep your hand firmly upon the helm of thought.  In the bark of your soul reclines the commanding Master;  He does but sleep: wake Him.  Self-control is strength; Right Thought is masterly; Calmness is power.  Say unto your heart, "Peace, be still!""

Make your big decisions when you are on fire, and alive with passion for something, then carry out the daily tasks whether you feel like it or not, manage your mind and keep things positive between your hears.  Calm your heart but release it's potential!!  Your heart is a powerhouse, your mind is a storm of incredible power, and your body is a tireless servent capable of any adaptation needed!  You need but harness them and you can do anything!  ANYTHING!