Thomas "The Tank" Dade

IDENTIFYING & UNDERSTANDING YOUR WHYS – FINDING YOUR MOTIVATION

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately, asking myself what motivates me? When I’m training 7+ times a week or working 10+ hours a day, what keeps me going? If you asked me a couple years ago I wouldn’t admit it, and to be honest I didn’t even realise it, but my answer would be my ego and low self-esteem. I based my self-worth on how hard I worked. If others worked harder it meant I was lesser. This motivated me to keep working hard, at the time this was my why, and it was wrong for so many reasons. #1, I shouldn’t be comparing myself to others, #2, it was causing me anxiety & #3, I was compensating for a much larger issue. I was trying to cover up my lack of confidence and insecurities by believing if I worked harder than others I’d be better than them. Sure it felt good for maybe a couple hours and kept me motivated, but it also made me tired and full of anxiety. This was my why, a bad one, but it was still a why that motivated me.

I recount this story above because I believe it demonstrates how important and powerful having a why is, but also how important it is to have a why for the right reason.

My why today is mountaineering, triathlons and the experiences they bring me, much healthier why’s. I work hard at the workplace so I can afford to go on mountaineering trips and enter triathlons races. I train hard to ensure I meet the standards of both activities and can fully enjoy the activity without being too tired. As a result I find it easier to keep training when I’m tired, or to pick up that extra bit of work because I know what I’m doing is contributing to the things I enjoy. This is where I find my motivation, it’s my why!

What’s my point? Find your why! Knowing why your doing a difficult task/activity gives you a special kind of energy and positive attitude that can’t be found from anything else. And as a result your able to perform these tasks you once thought were too hard, boring or impossible.