Shame and fear based motivation only gets you so far and burns you out Finding the intrinsic motivation for a task/practice is more reliable and consistent

Sticking to the running theme from yesterday, I’ll illustrate my point.

I’m no stranger to the aesthetic preferences of our culture and there are times when I run to ‘get skinny’. 

I drag on my leggings and lace up my trainers out of fear.

Fear of being rejected for being soft and curvaceous.

Fear of hearing taunts about my fatness (these come from childhood memories of being the chubby kid)

And just an overall sense of being wrong and running being the cure for that.

Those runs are so grim. 

My inner child is terrified and pushing me to extremes and it’s so uncomfortable, that it’s hard to be in my body and feel my limits, but also to feel the joy of the movement.

It creates this cycle of force, where I’m forcing myself to go on the run and I’m forcing myself past my capacity on the run, and after a while that reserve of life-force energy that I use to force myself wears out and I’m left either sick from burnout, or with a total lack of interest in running because it’s all so pressurised.

And yes this can be applied to more than just running in life.

The cycle starts again after a pause, when enough shame from not running has built up, I’ve recovered some life-force from taking a break and maybe I’ve got event on the horizon that I think that I need to slim down for.

You get the picture, and perhaps you relate?

What is the alternative?

I’ve found it helpful to connect with the intrinsic motivation for running (and all tasks).

I LOVE to dance. It’s one of the biggest bringers of joy to my life. 

And I’m good at it, I’ve got an innate confidence in my skills and will hit most dance floors with commitment.

I’ve noticed though that my cardiovascular capacity greatly impacts my ability to boogie.

I was at a dance camp recently where my movements were all very andante as I hadn’t run for a few weeks due to injuries.

That fired me up.

So when I’ve been running again recently its been in service to my dancing.

To facilitate that feeling of grace and bliss when I’m truly in tune with the music.

And as its joy, not shame based, I’m not beating myself up or pushing myself to extremes, I’m enjoying the flow of that too.