MOTIVATION
I truly believe life is being lived if you are consistently motivated.
Do you agree?
You can’t wave a magic wand to make that happen. Motivation can take you to water, but you have to want to drink. The majority of people are motivated in three ways;
1. They are influenced by friends and family to take on a challenge and they become motivated from doing it.
2. A shock to their life has now kick-started their motivation. For example, they survived a heart attack due to being overweight and they then decided to eat healthier and exercise more regularly.
No, it doesn’t mean ordering KFC and a coke lite!!
Do you agree the motivation heightens when they start shedding the kilos, happier as now they can tie their shoe laces without being out of breath afterwards? I can imagine the libido going through the roof as they are now more flexible. Blood circulating more consistently through the body.
3. Others are self-motivated. They don’t need a shock to their life or people to influence them in order to get motivated. They consistently choose challenges and set a goal to achieve it.
Personally for me, I would classify myself as self-motivated but do take on challenges from friends. If my mates are reading this do you agree, Deon, Andrew or Dirk?
My life is enjoying challenge after challenge. The challenges are all so different, some silly, some adventurous but as long as it personally motivates me I will continue.
I will share a few examples of what I mean by challenges I have done that have kept me motivated.
- Running with the bulls in Pamplona (Spain). I still want to ride a bull in Texas (Just waiting for my life and disability insurance to kick in).
- Bungee jump in Gouritz River, Bloukrans (708 feet), South Africa, Macau in Hong Kong (764 feet), New Zealand and Vic falls in Zimbabwe (Won’t repeat Vic Falls as there was a case where a lady bungeed down but never came back up. (Eish!!)
- White river rafting in the mighty Zambezi many times.
- In cycling, completing most events including Cape Epic.
- Catch over a 600-pound marlin and over a 200-pound yellowfin (Still want the 1 000-pound bluefin).
- Wet biked from Cape Town to Langebaan with my three children to raise money for N.S.R.I (Raised R10 000).
- I am not going to discuss my thirst for speed I will get into trouble.
Personally, I feel fulfilled and highly motivated achieving something I have never done before. Naturally this is balanced with quality time spent with my family.
In business, I aimed to break every record possible in marketing and management which I did during my time.
Yes, I wanted to retire financially at 30 years of age and did.
I have honestly hundreds of examples of good, stupid and hair-raising goals I have set and achieved. Some cost no money and others have. Naturally, in the beginning, most goals were limited as I had financial restraints.
Crikey, once we were watching guys doing break-dancing at a show, and the challenge ended up being my mate saying I will eat my hat if you can spin on your back.
I ended up going to the guys at backstage and said I need you to teach me how to spin on my back. They came to my house and we practised for months on my squash court at my home, until I could spin on my back. I admit it was never like them, but enough for my mate to have to accept he has to eat his hat.
Yes, I taste the fear in some challenges, but often that’s when you truly feel you’re alive in certain challenges you take on.
Don’t you agree?
When I have been in life and death situations (unplanned) I don’t have fear, I only focus on solutions, but the one example where there was no time to consider focus was at Bloukrans (708 feet) it was my 5th bungee jump and I said can I do something different, he said sure what do you have in mind, I said how about a running jump as opposed to you guys hopping me to the end and then giving me a countdown.
They said cool. So I did a running sprint and on my way down my memory suddenly kicked in and said hey you’re supposed to be tied by your feet and you’re not. Now I am thinking is the rope tied to my chest just a backup and works the same way?
So yes, I did have a taste of serious fear and realised only when I reach the bottom and stretch back up with the stretch in the rope will I know.
Trust me I tasted fear that day!! My mind could not go into solution as when you dropping 200km an hour there is no solution except praying the rope will hold.
Has any of you done a 708 feet bungee before?
Hey next time I challenge you to try it with your feet not attached, I guarantee your heart rate will increase.
Don’t you agree you have to mix up life a little to stay motivated? I would find it very hard to stay motivated in life living the same routine in and out daily.
I have set many goals to enjoy the best of the best. This may include spending time with a Tour de France cycling team in France to attending World Cup Soccer in Brazil, World Cup Rugby in France and the UK etc., etc.
My next one is to attend the 2016 Olympics . Watching the best of the best has to be the ultimate .
Don’t you agree we sometimes get in a rut? Same routine day in, day out.
Come on, life is worth living, let’s mix it up!!!
To ensure I achieve my goals depending on which one, I simply plan my work and work my plan.
- I choose when to start and when I wish to achieve my goal.
- I write it down and break it up.
“Inch by inch life is a cinch, yard by yard, life is hard”
- If I need to I will get a coach depending on what I am doing.
- I will write my progress down daily and tick it off when I have done for the day what I needed to. (That truly helps on remaining motivated).
- If I need a partner I always choose someone better than me.
- I never allow doubt to enter my mind, failure is not an option.
- If I fail temporarily, which I have, I just get back up and continue until I succeed.
The nickname I have been given over time is Hurricane.
I am never quite sure of the true reason but the different versions I have been told is:
When I set my mind on something, I will never stop until I achieve it, No curve balls, not even a Hurricane will stop me. I will use its momentum. (P.M.A )
Or
When I go out to certain places most often when I leave the place or have been told to leave, there is usually a story to tell.
Or
Where most people fit in two events in a day, I most often do more than three in a day. Let’s just say I like to keep busy!!! Others may call it ADHD.
For those of you who know me, you decide!!
I challenge all of you to improve the quality of life to what you currently have.
Ask yourself, “Could my life be better?” Everyone is different in their plan of action to be highly motivated and what goal to now set. I can’t tell you which goal to aim for and what works best for you, but I have shared in my examples and own experience.
Let’s talk about you further;
Firstly you need to choose something you wish to accomplish.
Let’s assume it’s something physical, be it a cycle race or running event you can train towards.
Set a date for when you wish to start and achieve your goal. Depending on the goal, hire a coach (or help from a friend of substance) and tell everyone. Now don’t think everyone is rooting for you to become a winner.
Fifty percent of your friends do want you to succeed, but the other fifty percent believe you will fail.
So this is why you tell everyone so that when you really don’t feel like training that morning, you think about all those people who are expecting you to fail, and use their negative thoughts as your positive energy.
You agree Champions? Do you truly want to give them that satisfaction of hearing the whispers of them saying I told you so, or your actions telling them so!!!
“Actions speak louder than words”
If the weather is wet, windy and cold our mind can easily play games and tell us club duvet is a much better proposal now. All I do is say let me complete the first 60 seconds of my training, if I want to go back to club duvet then great turn around. You agree we all know once you have started, you then carry on and when you have finished you feel, TOP OF THE WORLD. (Start early in the morning rather than late afternoon.) Better for P.M.A.
So you have chosen your goal, told everyone, so now you need to break it up into day by day and write it down. Writing down what you completed each day that was required is highly motivating. Tweak your programme to, where necessary. Use the momentum of yesterday’s achievement to kick off for your next day. You continue this until your final day of training.
When you are at the starting block of your chosen event, always know physically you have trained for this, believe in yourself as there is nothing more you can physically train for further. It’s now all in the head. Your P.M.A will be the result of how well you are going to finish, which I have no doubt that you will excel and inspire many.
“You may alter your course but never alter your goal”
Champions, enjoy your journey of training until your goal has been achieved.
For those of you who wish to embark on a serious challenge, not for the faint hearted, I will share with you one last example of my personal goals I set and achieved that will benefit you. I will detail it in full so you can draw the parallels for the goal you are going to set for your next challenge.
I had just come out of a bad motorbike accident and I decided to challenge myself to do the toughest mountain bike race in the world, ‘The Cape Epic’ in 2015. I had never before tried doing proper mountain biking. The Cape Epic is over eight days back-to-back riding. You have to ride 739km with 16 000 metres of climbing. Now my planning was as follows;
Like most activities one takes on, you need a coach. I chose Erica Green, the best you will ever find. (Two times Olympia candidate for road and MTB cycling). I asked her if I was to enjoy a comfortable race over the 8 days how many months of training would I need. Erica told me that most people need around 12 months. I told her I had six months and asked if it was possible. She said to me, “Mike I know you very mentally strong and determined so yes you can.” I said, “Great, now what?” She told me to go to the Sports Science Institute to test my capabilities and based on the results she would write a cycling programme for me.
Next, I had to find an Epic partner, this was a challenge as you need a good cyclist but also someone who is compatible with your personality. Many people offered to ride with me, but I wanted the best choice. I was very blessed to have chosen Darron Metcalf as my partner. The best partner anybody could have hoped for. An exceptional cyclist, Darron is an ‘A’ rider. I would have been furious choosing a partner, who bonks during the epic because he did not train enough. So I wanted someone far stronger than me even though poor Darron probably fell asleep a few times while cycling behind me during the Cape Epic race.
I stuck my programme on the wall in my bedroom. Every day I completed what was required and once I was done I would tick it off .
If it was a training day of 120km, I would even break that down in my head while riding and count down from 120km to 110km, 100 km until I got to last 10km. Trust me your mind likes to play negative games if you let it. Never leave it in neutral, keep it in gear with positive thoughts. I used to sing a lot while riding and never ever got many compliments. I was hated when riding up steep hills singing and others could hardly breathe.
Erica kept tabs on me and would not be shy to tell me off when she needed to. Not used to being scolded at when you’re 50 years old. Only my mum still does that when she gives me the much needed occasional slap on the arm.
I had to have a goal weight too. So I went to a nutritionist who said my perfect weight is 78kg. Crumbs, at the start of training I was currently weighing in at 98 kg. In conclusion, the programme was followed to the tee, weight-wise I dropped 20kg. From 98kg, and dropped to 78kg when I rode the Epic. A new wardrobe cost me a fortune. I didn’t let work suffer, but my family I must admit took a back seat as many hours were needed for training. For example: Over the December period I cycled over 75 hours for training. Rain, wind, cold, heat, no matter what, I trained. In my mind, the Epic race can give you all that type of weather in 8 days, and you need to be ready for it. Thanks, Wifey, you were my pillar of support.
The Cape Epic race was completed. Yes, I crashed a few times, but I had a great ride and it was enjoyable. Thanks to my wife, family support, my riding partner, and coach. Now my next personal goal is kite surfing. I now know what a body slam is. It’s not pretty, like an enema through your nose. (Latest update, I am leaving now for X-rays as I tore my muscle on hip from that 5-metre body slam with the kite).
So if you see me flying over your roofs, just know the programme is not going too well.
I hope you will be pleased to know I will be adding to this topic on a regular basis. I will also elaborate on specific areas more intensely.
Future champions, choose your challenge, set your goals and let’s do it. If you have selected a challenge and completed it please email me on mikerussonpma@gmail.com and let me know so we can post your success on this site.
“Some succeed because they are destined to, most succeed because they are determined too”
The fact you have read this far, I strongly believe you are encouraged to embark on a challenge. Don’t prove me wrong, you just now need to continue believing in yourself for whatever it is you wish to achieve.
“Consider yourself 80 % successful as long as you show up!!”
P.M.A
Finishing line at the Cape Epic
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