Quick Tip: The Ups and Downs of the Motivation Roller Coaster

Ask any runner and he or she will tell you, the motivation roller coaster is a real thing.

Are You Riding the Motivation Roller Coaster?

There are times when going for a run is easy as pie.

But there are other times when motivating yourself to go for a run is next to impossible. During those moments, it is up to you to create your own motivation because odds of you simply finding it are slim and none.

You Must Generate Your Own Motivation

How to Generate Your Own Motivation

Before you can generate your own motivation to get off or the motivation roller coaster, you need to figure out why you’re experiencing a dip in your motivation in the first place.

The three most common reasons I’ve seen runners struggle with motivation are recently finishing a goal race, dealing with an injury, and running has lost its luster a little bit.

• Post Race: After training for a race for several months, crossing the finish line of said race can create a bit of a vacuum in terms of your motivation because you no longer have something specific to train for. Generate your own motivation by signing up for another race! Just something short and fast that is local can be enough to keep you motivated to get back to your training after your goal race, and once you’re back on the horse it becomes much easier to keep things rolling.
• Injury Issues: Few things will derail your motivation quicker than a running injury. And if it’s a regularly recurring injury, that can be even more frustrating! If your injury prevents you from running at all, try preserving your fitness by doing a cross training activity that won’t aggravate the issue. Or work on some strength training exercises that may shore up the weak links that may have caused the injury to begin with.
• Running Sucks: It may sound sacrilegious, but there are times when running simply sucks. When that happens, instead of trying to force yourself to run, try taking a break. Do some other physical activities for 4-6 weeks, and I can almost guarantee that your motivation to run will come flooding back after a week or two. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and nothing helps me when I’m struggling with my motivation for running than forcing myself to abstain from running for a few weeks.

Figure Out Why You Run

The biggest thing you can do to ensure the dips of the motivation roller coaster are fewer and farther between is to really dial in the reason that you run.

If you can figure that out, and it’s not as easy as you might think, it’s a lot easier to keep your motivation levels high.

For me, I run because it makes me a better person.

And I want to be a damn good person.

I want to be the best husband, the best daddy, the best coach and podcaster and citizen of the world that I can be.

And running helps me become the person that I ultimately want to be…

All #runners struggle with #motivation on occasion. Tips to help you get off the motivation roller coaster here: Click To Tweet

How do You Overcome an Occasional Lack of Motivation?

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