Member-only story
We Think We Need Internal Motivation, But We Actually Need External Motivation
We can’t do things on our own.
There is a reason why professional athletes have coaches: they can’t get Olympics results on their own. No matter how motivated an athlete is, they all need coaches because it’s the external motivation that keeps us on track. Except, of course, if you are David Goggins. And in this case, you are your own coach.
I am back at the gym. Since I moved to this new apartment with my partner, there hasn’t been a day that he hasn’t told me to go join the gym. We moved in May/2021, and I just joined the gym in Jan/2022. It took me seven months of listening to him telling me every day that joining the gym would be a good thing for me. I had so many excuses, but here I am. Actually, I’m happy that I joined.
Not only has my partner motivated me to join the gym, but there is also a second reason that I decided to join it. My parents are coming in April to stay with us for a little over a month, and I haven’t seen them in over two years, so I want to look (feel) good for them. I know I will enjoy their company much more if I am not overweight. So now, I have three months to get back on track.
So here you have it. Ok, I still need my internal motivation to go to the gym, but if it wasn’t because of my…
