Motivation

On most days I find myself struggling with motivation, and I like to think that I am normal. Today it was a rainy gray morning. My alarm clock went off at 5:30 and I immediately hit the snooze button. As I laid in my warm bed listening to the rain fall and my doggy snoring happily beside me, I could find myself struggling to find the motivation to get up. I needed to find a way to get my butt moving. So I began to think about how lucky I was that I got to work from home this morning giving me the opportunity to sleep in and get in a trip to the gym. I thought of how happy my day would be without the stress of worrying about working out when I got home
late in the evening, or feeling guilty for not working out at all. My motivations for working out change daily, maybe even hourly. Sometimes it is the weather, the sun shine makes me jump at the chance to get up and move. Some days it is my doggy’s big brown eyes looking at me begging for a walk to the park. And sometimes it is the fact that I have a date in 8 hours and want to have the confidence to wear my new dress and not feel guilty for drinking more beers than my diet allows! The other night I was fortunate to attend a fabulous event put on by a local group, DinnerGrrls. It was my first introduction to the group and I was welcomed with a warm reception. Our speaker for the evening was Adrienne Fritze. I am not super connected in to the artist world here in Portland – so I did know how lucky I was to be sitting in this intimate setting with her. For those of you who don’t know her story or what she is doing for the artist community here in Portland, I highly suggest you check her out, http://adriennefritze.com/. Over sake and sushi she told us of her amazing journey and all of the trials and tribulations she has had. And she also spoke a lot on motivation. How did she keep going when the world around her seemed to keep constantly knocking her down? Adrienne said something that resounded in me. She said she walks with the most amazing, caring, and loving companions. Her family, friends, and the love that is shared between them is her biggest motivating factor. She is motivated by love; pure, open, and honest love. And I awoke to that fact this morning that love is my biggest motivating factor too. The love of my family, the beautiful world around me, my snuggly puppy dog, and of course my friends and my community. The women in my life are all super active, crazy, beautiful, and keep me moving. They run triathlons, practice yoga, surf, bike, skate, snowboard, dance, ski, swim, walk, run, laugh, rock climb and most importantly LIVE (out loud). If I didn’t have them, most days it would be easy to just go back to bed. Which is why I think it is so important to build your own community of motivation. A new community I am looking forward to meeting is through the boot camp! Not only do you learn the tools you need to make the first steps towards fitness but you also meet an amazing new group of people who 3 times a week will be there to motivate you and to push you farther than you have gone. I know I will be there ready to cheer you on and I hope you will be there to cheer me on! Until then I'll look towards the sun, a group of amazing friends, the way my body feels after it has ran 5 miles, and cute boys and puppy dogs for my motivation. Look for your own and think about it before you hit your snooze button.