Episode 012: "Future Me"

"Future Me" It’s easy to stay motivated when things are new. Like starting a new job, new relationship, new idea, new workout… But when that newness wears off and it’s time to find additional motivation, things can get difficult. Most of us are wired for the short game, craving that instant gratification. I’m no different. We want instant output for our input. Unfortunately most things don’t work that way. I hate getting up early, yet when I’m headed on vacation I have no problem waking up and jumping out of bed before the sun is up. I’m ready to go. But even after a couple days of getting up early for vacation it eventually gets old, making it harder and harder to continue. The newness will ultimately dwindle as well as the motivation. That is when we need to find something more than the excitement of something being new to drive us. I had to do this exact thing this morning. As I reached for my alarm this morning, it read 5:55am. I looked out the window and it was still dark and the covers on my bed were hugging me like the wings of an angel, seducing me to stay put for another 20 minutes. “What’s another 20 minutes?”, I asked myself trying to justify the decision to skip my workout this morning and get a little more sleep. If I have ever been a storyteller in my life, this was my finest moment. Over the next few minutes, I came up with story after story as to why it was “ok” for me to skip Crossfit today. Then finally, I told myself the only story that mattered. The story of the future, the story that motivated me. You see, I have been in this exact moment almost every time I need to wake up for a workout. I know exactly how it ends but for some reason my memory often fails me when in this situation. As I said, I hate GETTING up early. But, I love BEING up early. The story I told myself that finally got me out of bed and out the door was, “How I good I was going to feel when I was done”. I promised myself that “future me” was going to feel proud, accomplished and happy that I got out of bed. Guess what? “Past me was right. “Future me was thankful “Past” me kicked him out of bed. There is something invigorating about walking out after a workout, short of breath, arms shaking and dripping sweat before most people have started their day. Yeah, when I first started Crossfit it was new and exciting. There was no additional motivation needed for me to show up. But after the newness had worn off I needed to dig deep for additional motivation. Finally realizing it isn’t about me. It’s about… “Future Me” #IODcommited #impactoftheday #poweredbyimpactclub #the1percentjourney