Motivation

My apologies once again for being rather sparatic in the posting lately. I have had a lot of writing to do for work, so the last thing I have wanted to do lately is write for fun. Furthermore, I have been more focused on training more than ever. Walking for an hour on the path at work, then to come home and run or strength train at night. The extra walking and weights are starting to pay off not only on my waistline but also in the distance I can run without getting tired.

Ultimately, my goal for this half marathon is just to finish it. And I think at the pace I am going now, I will definately finish it. I can focus on time for the next one.

As I mentioned in earlier posts, there are several motivating factors that are contributing to my success.

1. I will not, look and feel the way I have felt for the past 2 years when I turn 31 in September. I have already accomplished that goal by weighing less now than I have in the past couple of years. And with the outside looking better, I am starting to feel good on the inside as well.
2. I want to set a good example for my daughter. And this is probably more important than number 1. She is now getting to the stage where she will imitate everything that I do. So it is important that she views mommy as a strong, determined, confident woman. This will help shape her to become a strong confident girl. Not dealing with image issues that I dealt with my entire life.
3. To prove the naysayers wrong. Now, this one isn't really at the top of the list of motivators, but it sure is important. I am the type of person that when someone tells me I can't and never will accomplish something, I decide from that moment forward that I am going to prove them wrong.

But, I think that there is more that drives me than just the above three. I was walking with a friend on Saturday (the walk was actually suppose to be a 3 mile run, but it turned into a 7 mile walk because we hadn't seen eachother in about 12 years), and we were discussing the reasons why we each decided to commit to a healthier life style. My friend explained that they saw someone else doing it on television and that inspired them to get into shape. I think my friend hit the nail on the head: other people's motivation drives your own.

I completely agree with that. I think other's successes motivate us for several reasons. Maybe the person was just like you and you feel that "If he/she can do it, I can do it" connection. Or, maybe it's that subconscious drive to be better than the last person, I'm not sure.

So with that I think I will add a #4 to my list of motivating factors: I want your success tomotivate me. And I hope my success motivates you :)