Thursday, November 14, 2013

This Is What It Feels Like To "Arrive"

This was another one of those weeks where I looked at the calendar on Sunday and thought, "I am soooo looking forward to getting to 'this' time on 'that' day" because of how much would then be behind me. It's not that I wanted to just hurry through the week, but there were certainly things on my calendar to which I was not looking forward. Therefore, getting them behind me would be both a relief and a success.

Ahhhh ... I've now arrived at that moment for this week!

I was coming home from my last "to do" that got me to this point today, and the feeling I had was almost exactly the way I feel after a run -- especially the bigger miles. Wait, that's a lie because I sometimes feel it after a short run, too. Anyway, the feeling: I just want it finished!!

That feeling does not negate the good of the doing, though. Okay, so it was hard to get motivated. It wasn't necessarily fun during the process. And, when finished, it's not like I'm all kinds of raring to do it again. But, I like the outcome. Whatever the reward, the reward is good.

So, is the paragraph above talking about running? Or, working? Or, studying? Or, completing a long-term project? All of the above?

My point exactly.

The real way I motivate myself to keep running is no longer because it keeps Elly's nails trimmed. That is certainly the hook I used in the beginning, but it's not what keeps me out there anymore. These days, when I'm lacking motivation the most, I think about all that I've accomplished -- whether it was a degree or a job or a project or even a house where every room is clean all at the same time (seriously, it can happen) -- and, I remember that I earned both the feeling of satisfaction and the reward only because I embarked on something that took up a lot of my time and energy that I didn't always want to give along the way. But, I gave it anyway. Because I said I would.

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