Getting out of bed in the morning can sometimes be the cruelest thing in my world. Everything is telling me that I don’t really need to move, that if I just hit snooze I can have 15 more minutes of warm dark snuggling with my duvet. I wish I could say I never give in to that temptation, yet I do. For a little anyway. Then I swing my lower body out into the chill air to the floor, and the day starts.
When I was running more often, some of my best motivation came from other runners. Not people I was running with, but people I saw throughout my day. And the biggest motivation came not from the elite men and women, but those people that were obviously struggling to get into it. There they were early in the morning, or late at night, huffing and puffing step after step. Yet no sign of quitting. Those people humble me.
Swimming is a little different. Here I am the one struggling, and I wonder how much it shows. Everyone else seems to cut through the water so effortlessly. Young, old, men or women. So I get in and start hoping that on one of these many 25 yard laps I might catch a glimmer of what they know. I’m exhausted after fifteen minutes, and my shoulders are somehow on fire even though I’m submerged in water. But that cheerful 78 year old man in the lane beside me keeps smiling encouragement lap after lap, and he was here fifteen minutes before me. Is it ego that keeps me pushing? Maybe a little bit, but I know that this guy has been at this for life, and I’m happy to have him push me.
Back here at work, I hear all kinds of stories that keep me motivated. Some of you are legally blind, or have a disability. You don’t let that limit what you’ll do though. Learning to swim at 65, or 8 , when you can’t see without your glasses. That’s courage. So anything that Aquagoggles can do to ease your comfort in the water gives me a nice warm feeling. Something as simple as seeing the pool clock, let alone that endless black line at the bottom of the pool.
My motivation is most definitely my customers. I love hearing your stories, so keep sharing them!
