Motivation,

Ahh, the ever elusive motivation.  Passion and excitement can carry you a long way, a very long way, into a goal, or a training plan.  But not all the way to the goal.  You get pumped, jazzed about something, you get all fired up and go for it!  Guns drawn nothing can stop you!  For a while, it's amazing, and you do great stuff, you nail your workouts, you hit your times, you get your cardio health up and your body in the best shape of your life.  You open your own office, double your income, hit your milestone, whatever.  Eventually, however, the excitement is going to wear off and you'll have to find something deeper to keep on your training plan.

Why do you want to be healthy?  Don't you know it's way more fun to be fat and eat everything in sight and never ever get off the couch?  What is your reason for wanting to be in good shape?  Do you just want to look nice in your skinny pants?  is that all?  You're going to need something to hold onto when the waves get rough.  Something to keep you going when it suddenly isn't exciting to wake up at 6am for a run anymore.  When you've done it so many times it's not even a big deal to those around you anymore.  Sure, you've broken through countless barriers, and overcome amazing obstacles, and your in the best shape of your entire life, but even extraordinary becomes normal over time, so now what?

Let me tell you why I am doing this.  For me, this is a very selfish and personal agenda behind doing an ironman.  I have all the usual reasons, just to say i did it, to brag about it, because i like the name, etc etc.  But those aren't going to carry me over the finish line.  Those reasons don't really even stand up to a month of training.  The real reasons for me to go for it, for me to complete it, is because my family deserves a winning example.  My kids, even though they are only 2, understand the importance of running, biking, and practicing something till your good at it.  We have a saying whenever something goes wrong, we tell them to say "nooo biiig deeeal!".  This is a great way for a child to understand that when something goes wrong its not the end of the world, not even the end of the day, it's just an opportunity to overcome and grow!  This is true for knee problems from running, neck problems from biking, or fear of swimming!  If your nervous, stressed, uncomfortable, then your growing, learning, improving.  I am not saying that being stressed all the time is good, i am saying that NEVER being out there past your boundaries is also very not-good.

So when the chips are down, and weekends are suddenly not available, how do you cope?  Do you quit?  Or when you're more lean that you want to be (how is that for a problem we would all want to have) and you know that if you get much leaner it's going to affect your performance, how do you handle it?  If you are eating your breakfast and you dump your milk all over the ground and your two years old, what do you do?  When your cereal bar get's stolen by a dog, what now?  Do you scream and cry and throw a fit until someone else solves your problem for you?  Congratulations, my kids can handle a crisis better than you!  haha.  Or do you rise up, take a deep breath, and do what needs to be done.

The trick is to make the plan when you are fired up, when your on cloud nine, when your invincible and your convinced the world is about to be dominated by you for all time.  When you feel seven feet tall and bullet proof, that's when you position the cannons, issue orders to the troops, and prepare for battle.  You layout the path when your full of faith and power.  And then you walk it, even when it's hard, even when your faith is low, even when you don't feel so powerful, you walk it out.  When you look back, having NOT QUIT, having NEVER QUIT, and realize what you have accomplished, you'll ACTUALLY BE seven feet tall and bullet proof, now it's not just a feeling, you've won.

It is all or our responsibilities as men and women, as image bearers, to do this.  We must reflect the power and strength we inherited, the majesty that is our birth right and go for it.  Risk it all.  Leave it all out on the field.  Bike down steep hills at night, whatever it takes to make your dreams a reality!  Your dreams were given to you for a reason and that reason was not just to make you wish for them in vain!

Seriously, what is it that you want out of life?  Why don't you have it yet?  Why haven't you started working toward it yet?  What is holding you back?  Whatever it is, today, take a moment and turn around to look your fear, your chains, whatever they are, look them in the eye and say no.  Say enough!  I don't need you, I am better off without you in my life.  It's time to be free.