Chasing motivation: 6 tips to get you started (and keep going)

Each one of us had at some stage of our lives struggled to keep motivation high. As a runner, I use my own tricks to keep motivated to exercise and here is the way I try to use them on my entrepreneurial journey.

So far the experience as an entrepreneur taught me several (and important) things. The learning curve has been huge. It has also been a journey of self-discovery giving me joy and pleasure.

I learned that a first-time entrepreneur has to master as quickly as possible several areas: sales, marketing, online tech, product or service development, human resources management, accounting, etc.

But for me, the most valuable lesson is that motivation is the key ingredient!

Most of us rely on others to set deadlines and goals. Whether it is at work or at college, we all struggle at different levels with procrastination. We often deal with things when they become so urgent we can’t avoid them anymore.

However, most of us respect our commitments even if we leave them until the very last minute.

But when we have no one to report to but ourselves, things get more complex. It’s hard to set our own goals, deadlines and measure our own progress. To resist inertia, procrastination, and ultimately failure, we must adopt strategies for success.

Much has been written about motivation. I struggled in the past but now I feel motivated to run and participated in several running competitions.

Last year, I finished my first half-marathon and my next goal is to finish a marathon!

However, as an entrepreneur things haven’t been so linear. Sometimes it’s hard to keep motivation high.

So I thought about how can I apply the six tricks I used to keep the motivation for exercise in my daily work life:

1. Starting with the final goal in mind

When I run, my main goal is to become healthier and feel good about myself, besides keeping my weight under control.

I remember when I was an overweight teenager. I didn’t feel bad about myself for not taking the steps to become fit even though that goal was always on my mind.

So, I never felt bad about being so far away from my goal and not doing anything to achieve it. But I kept always hopeful that sooner or later I would get there!

2. Acting like a runner

When I run I feel like a “professional”. Putting my running shoes on is like going through a transition to my role as a “runner”.

It doesn’t matter how slow I run. I don’t even compare myself to others. What it really matters is that I feel like a runner. And I am!

So, I learned that we do not need others’ permission to be true to ourselves and to be who we really want to be.

3. You’ll never like something you never tried

I joined the gym because I felt energised at bedtime because my desk job wasn’t physically demanding.

So I felt the need to spend the extra energy on exercise and it really helped me to improve my sleep. My intention was never to run until I tried it!

I gradually enjoyed the experience as I increased the distance and speed. I could see quick progress and that felt awesome.

So I never thought about becoming a dedicated runner. I found this passion after trying something I thought I would not enjoy.

4. Making small bets and having fun

As the running distances increased, I listened to music while jogging and trying different routes. I also bought better exercise equipment like shoes, clothing, sunglasses, running watch, heart monitor, etc.

I started planning weekly running programs and reading forums and listening to podcasts about the experiences of other runners.

I relied on gamification techniques. I built a running habit based on a game: the more I practiced the more I invested in the exercise.

5. As every runner knows, training time is sacred

As time went by, I saw running as an “obligation”, not to convince myself to exercise, but to let others know I “had” to go for a jog when they invited me for other leisure activities.

Instead of saying “I feel like going for a run”, I said “I have to go for a run”.

I really feel better when I exercise and I share that positive energy with those around me. So it makes sense to invest in quality time with family and friends instead of quantity.

6. There’s always the sun

Sometimes it’s hard, it’s hard to go for a run in the cold and rain.

Sometimes you want to skip exercise, but deep down you know what comes next: one day after the other until you give up.

In those hard times there are no magic recipes or hidden tricks. I try to stick to the training plan because sometimes we just have to do what we are meant to do without giving too much thought about it.

And we do it because we believe we will feel great at the end of the training session.

So I learned to accept suffering and pain as part of my growing process because it’s part of our lives and the first step to overcome negativity is to deal with it as best as we can.

Most of the times it’s difficult to do what we’re meant to. Sometimes we find ourselves in the middle of tough and invincible battles. But if life was easy, would we feel accomplishment and fulfillment the same way?

From the pavement to the office

Do I apply these tricks and rules of exercise to my daily job? So far, not as much as I would like. But it’s a learning process.

Sometimes it’s slower than I expected, but I have no doubts it has been a great self-discovery journey.

And that is a key element of entrepreneurship to keep for the rest of my life. So I try every day to enjoy what I do, I try to follow my gut instinct and have fun.

Work should not be a heavy burden that most of us have to go through until retirement.

But how do we find out what brings us pleasure? How can we discover what we are passionate about? How do we discover our life mission?

I think it’s through trial and error. I didn’t like running when I was young, quite the opposite. I loathed running. I could never understand why there were people who ran for the sake of it… until I tried it!

Action vs. reaction

In a world of constant online distraction, it’s difficult to focus on our goals!

When we browse endless websites when we go through social media feeds or we keep constantly checking email we are reacting to external stimuli. We allow others to decide for us what we should buy, what we should think and ultimately the things we should pay attention to.

When we act consciously we focus in the present moment and it gets easier to act according to our interests and values.

We might research an interesting topic on the web, but we do it in a premeditated way. We can resist following what algorithms “think” we should pay attention to.

The same goes for a shopping trip. Why not go to the shopping centre only to buy something we need instead of browsing stores?

And if there is nothing we need at the moment? How about a walk by the seaside or in a park? How about reading a good book?

And why are we so afraid of being bored? Studies show that boredom is the fuel of imagination and creativity!

It’s difficult to do what’s right, it’s difficult to resist temptations such as “peeking” social media, but if we think more often about what really makes us happy, we adopt different tactics that allow us to focus on the essential.

Mark Twain said: “I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.”

I’m sure the same applies to us.

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