Motivation

A frequently asked question non-runners ask me is, “Why do you run?” I completely understand this question because before I became an avid runner, I was not a fan of running and didn’t have an inner drive pushing me to continue it. This all changed once I joined cross country and found my motivation to keep running. I started realizing the benefits of running, not just the health benefits but also the benefits gained for the mind and experience.

Sakyong Mipham explains that motivation is essential to anything we do. Through good motivation, we can power our body and mind to get out and run six miles. We have to pay attention to what makes our mind motivated, what feeds that motivation, and what sustains it (Mipham 49). When I was a beginner runner, I had a hard time finding good motivation to continue running at all. Now, I find motivation for running through myself and my friends. Although my family cheers me on during races (once or twice a week), I’m not running with them six days a week so I am left with finding other sources to keep me motivated throughout the week. To keep myself motivated, I create goals and stay positive! When I make goals for running, it keeps me thinking about what more I can do to achieve the goals which makes me work harder during practice and races. Staying positive is what sustains my motivation because I find that if you complain less and see only the good things about something, you will more likely be happier at the end of it. For example, if I have a good attitude about a hard practice, I will more likely be motivated to finish which will make me happier at the end knowing I didn’t give up even though it was challenging.

To add on, some of my biggest motivators are my friends and Sakyong agrees that your motivation comes your friends. He says that, “Friends encourage us, reminding us why we got into running in the first place. They help us stick with it. Most important, a friend wants us to do what is best for our progress” (Mipham 64-65). Through running, I have met several amazing people who not only made me a better runner, but have repetitively motivated me to work hard. During both of my cross country seasons, the girls’ varsity team was very close-knit as we practiced together, sweat together, and competed together. Frequently being together allowed us to push and remind one another of our end goals while having a great time. I remember the weekly long runs on the Soos Creek trail where we would run for miles and talk about anything and everything. We would forget about the pain and allow our talks to bring us closer together as a team and as friends. The varsity team wasn’t the only ones motivating me, it was really the entire team. When my fellow runners and friends cheered me on during a race (especially when I was feeling dead), it gave me the motivation to keep going and run faster, even though it hurt. That little splurge of encouragement provided me with the drive to do my best for my team, my school, and myself. Overall, I can easily say that my biggest motivators when running are my friends and myself!

A race where I clearly needed to find my motivation  

Varsity Top 4- one of my best races for the 2016 season running with these girls

Part of the Cross Country Family

I want to know: What motivates you? How do you use that motivation to your advantage?

Mipham, Sakyong. Running with the Mind of Meditation. New York, United States: Harmony Books, 2012. Print.