Motivation

Motivation

I was asked the other day, “How do you stay motivated to train and practice?” My gut response was to say, “I just do.”   But, this got me to thinking…. How do I? Is motivation something that can be taught? Can you mimic the motivation of another and have it be the driving force in your training?

To start, let’s look at the two types of motivation:

• Intrinsic Motivation:  denotes the idea that the motivation comes from inside the individual rather than from any external or outside reward, the pleasure one gets from the task itself, or the sense of satisfaction of completing it. 
•   Extrinsic Motivation: denotes the idea that the motivation comes from outside the individual and often involves rewards such as trophies, money or social recognition.  

Without attaching any bias to these models, knowing what drives you is important.  

It seems that a person will generally fall somewhere between these two models. Understanding the definitions above can help you identify what you need to help motivate yourself; more importantly, it can help you maintain your motivation.

It’s easy to be motivated when you train with good people on a daily basis.  A good instructor can create a motivational force. Training with dedicated practitioners can help reinforce your own motivation.  Even small study groups can act like a support group.  Being able to surround yourself with people who share a common goal is very reassuring.  

Traditional martial arts will favor those who are more intrinsically motivated. It requires you to practice many hours, often with no sight of a reward.  You need to be independent.  You need to be able to practice on your own, and take personal responsibility for your own training and progression.  It’s nice to rely on the accountability you have towards your instructors, students and fellow practitioners, but when it comes down to it you need be able to create your own drive and inspiration.

A few tips here to help you stay on the path:

• Milestone Program: create a goal and the steps leading up to that goal. Each time you accomplish a step reward yourself with a material object. A book, equipment, etc...
• Change it up: Find new and interesting ways to practice and get the same results. Incorporate different training methods and routines. Martial Source is an excellent website with different resources that can provide training material.
• Get involved: Be a part of the community. Read about your art daily. Study the history of martial arts. There are plenty of great authors out there that can help to create stimulation: John Sells, Patrick McCarthy, Charles C. Goodin, and Michael Clarke just to name a few. The Traditional Karate Network is a good website for networking and information.

Lastly, expect more from yourself than you’re currently giving. Don’t get too comfortable, always push forward; always work just outside your comfort zone. Compete against yourself; be better today than you were yesterday.

Getting too comfortable can lead to stagnation. When we get comfortable we stop learning because we are not experiencing anything new; without new experience’s we cannot grow. Without growth, we don’t get better results.

Do not be complacent with your martial arts training and practice.