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Motivate Yourself!
 

    Why is it that those of us who are out of school, and on our own to train can sometimes motivate ourselves to find the time to train and maintain a training schedule, and other times not? At some points in our lives we are in the exercise habit and other times not. How can we consistently make training part of our schedule? These questions are often asked by rowers just out of college or anyone wanting to stay competitive.
    Paul too had brought up some of these questions in our last session. He had hit the doldrums of summer training. He thought there was no use talking to me if he wasn't training. He thought he needed to motivate himself before he made an appointment with me. But "motivating yourself" is not possible. Because it ends up being an "infinite regress" - you have to motivate yourself to motivate yourself. Fortunately, we are not alone, and another person can motvate us if we let them help us.
    My first thought in talking with Paul, was to suggest that we take a look at how elite rowers motivate themselves to train. Paul is an elite sculler, himself, so we don't have to look far.
    Put aside the fact that elite scullers may not have time to train, and just look at what motivates them. Money? Probably not. Love of rowing or competition - the desire to win? Maybe.
   Feeling good about being good at what they are doing? Pure enjoyment, exhilaration? Rowing well for your teammates? Gaining a position and power and influence on the team? Being admired and appreciated by others?
   Perhaps, all of it, but is this enough to get you on the water working hard regularly? Maybe, but what if it isn't?
    I know Paul has people to row with, and can make a point to arrange his training sessions with other rowers. I know he has coaching available. Coaching is important for motivation - even once a month, even if you have to travel for it or pay for it. A good coach can give you specific technical points to work on, remind you of familiar drills, and suggest a workout plan. I know people who have gotten very good coaching in phone conversations.
    Think over what you have to sacrifice to have time to train. A movie, dinner with friends, late night TV, time with your family? Decide whether it is really worth it. Stop kidding yourself if don't think it is. 
    "Mainly work. It's impossible to keep up," Paul says.
   "That may be the reality. You may decide that rowing isn't for you, and become comfortable with not motivating yourself.
Paul says that when he rows regularly, he becomes more skillful, and more fit. The boat moves faster and better. The actual satisfaction of rowing increases. He says that he gets addicted, rowing himself into a state of reverie that he can't duplicate anywhere else in his life. There comes a time when, of course, this isn't true. We don't get fasted, we slow down.
    But Paul isn't thinking about that time. I ask him if he would like to learn a small motivational tool. He is curious. This tool can help those of us who aren't getting faster as well as those who are.

Visualization for Motivation

 
    In this exercise, we "retrieve" the mental and emotional components of Paul's "motvation" to row. I say to Paul,
"Remember the last time you were heading down to the boathouse highly motivated to row and you had a great workout. Now back up to the moment just before you decided that you were going to do a good workout on tthe water... See yourself where ever that was making that decision... Float down inside yourself and see what you saw then, hear what you heard then and feel what you felt then.
    See what you saw then as if you were there looking at the scene around you through your own eyes...: notice the colors of things, the light, the shapes. Notice whether the picture is in 3 dimensions; whether there is a frame around it or is wrap around. Hear what you heard then - the sounds far away and close up, high pitched and low pitched, loud and soft. Feel what you felt then: the clothes on the surface of your body; the temperature of the air; the places where your body were supported; the muscular tension in your body -  scan your body from head to toe for the sensations of muscular tension and relaxation. See what you saw on your "mental screen." What mental images were you making then? Were they images of rowing in practice, or in a race? Were they of yourself looking fit and feeling good after the workout? Notice whether this picture is in black and white or color. Is it brightly or dimly lit? Notice any other features in this picture that attract your attention. Pay attention what you heard in your head - what were you saying to yourself? Did you hear music or a steady tone? Pay attention to the emotional feeling you had then somewhere in the center of your body. Scan your body again for your emotional state; the feeling of motivation is probably very subtle, but one of curiosity - perhaps about how well you could row or how much a good row will advance your fitness - or perhaps you have a sense of being energized.
 
    Paul had closed his eyes when I began to speak, and he nodded when he completed each visualization task. When we finished he said he could feel the emotionality of motivation. It surprised him that it was something he could identify. He thought motivation was more a mental thing, not something he could feel in his body. In my opinion, it's both. What we think effects how and what we feel.
   "Now, how will you remember that state of motivation that you will want to have the next time you are deciding whether or not to row?" I ask
"Well, I can sit back down in this chair and go though the exercise we just did."
We are in a room beside Paul's office, so he can sit in that chair just about any time he wants.
   "Yes sitting in that chair is an important reminder of the exercise we did."
    Those readers who want to try this exercise should make an audio tape of my instructions to Paul - make pauses to give yourself time to complete each task. Become familiar with what you feel like when you are motivated. What kind of mental images do you make? What kind of things do you say to yourself? Where in your body do you feel motivation?
    Once you get on the water, it is important to make the experience pleasurable. Why would you want to continue doing something you don't enjoy? For most people, making a row enjoyable includes doing a few drills as they push off the dock to wake up the rowing muscles. Rowing is a highly skilled activity. It requires a dynamic coordination of gross and fine muscles in a narrow range of movement. One small miscalculation and your blade touches the water - the enjoyment of the run of the boat is spoiled for that stroke. Your motivation to keep going diminishes that tiny bit. These bits of disappointment, unpleasantness add up over the duration of a sloppy row. Rowing becomes frustrating. So technique is important. Concentrate on quality rowing until you can consistently set the boat with each stroke.
    Warm up slowly - increasing your application of power in a natural progression. It is normal for the body to gradually prepare for the energy production that is required for strenuous effort. Give it time to give you the energy you will need to feel strong and concentrated as you develop speed. Set your own pace. Be sensitive to how you are feeling. You might already know that one day rowing will be invigorating, and another day it will just make you tired. You body needs rest to realize gains. If you've had a day when it made you tired, maybe the next day should be a rest day. If rowing becomes a torture that you endure in order to row fast or stay fit, you may find it more and more difficult to motivate yourself to row. Or, if on the other hand, rowing becomes an escape from problems or responsibilities, soon it will become associated with guilt. This adds to the difficulties of motivation.
    Remember, it is the emotional feeling that you have at the end of the visualization exercise that can help to get you to the boathouse. You can perhaps make the feeling of motivation stronger, if you brighten the mental image that you associate with motivation, or if you make the sounds that you associate with motivation louder. Adjust the image and the sound until the feeling of motivation is as strong as you can make it.