Yes, I spend some time on social media, mostly Insta, and I can’t lie… every time everyone uses the word MOTIVATION or INSPIRATION, I roll my eyes. SO SO HIGH.

I’ve said it a million times and I’ve posted about this a lot but it seems like I haven’t gotten to the whole world yet 😉 AS IF. So here I am at it again, in long-form, instead of the regular exasperated story here and there. To me:

MOTIVATION IS BULLSHIT

INSPIRATION IS NOT A THING.

THEY DON’T WORK.

If it worked, you wouldn’t be out there looking for it.

This is a convo that I have often with my husband. We don’t quite yet see eye to eye on this. He sees me from up close, day after day, getting up at the crack of dawn to run or workout, when I am tired, when it’s dark out, when I am sick, when I just raced, when it’s miserably cold out, when I don’t want to, and he tells me I am his “inspiration“… At least 2 or 3 strangers tell me the same thing on Insta every day.

I get it.

I appreciate it.

Sometimes I speak back.

Sometimes, when I don’t have time to elaborate and I roll my eyes, say thanks and get to the next thing. And that is my point. Exactly that one. There is always the next thing.

Life is just a sequence of time when we do things to stay above water, correct?

I also don’t believe in:

• living your best life
• trying your best
• be the best you can be

It makes no sense to me and it doesn’t seem to work for anyone. But that is maybe another blog post? Maybe. Let me know if you wanna hear more.

So, back to staying above water, each day consists of a bunch of things you have to do to meet any of these 2 goals of life:

goal 1: survive

goal 2: be well, happy, a rounded individual, a strong builder of a community

correct?

If you want, you can go as basic as the seven basic human needs according to Maslow for most of #1:

• air
• water
• food
• shelter
• safety
• sleep
• clothing (in some cases)

So, every day it’s a series of acts to get those needs met: breath in and out, drink water, eat something to survive, find shelter, stay out of traffic, etc.

Obviously, we want a lot more than those -we want to be happy, to have fun, to see our people, to share, to be loved, to create, to be more, to make someone happy, to make a difference, etc. That would push us to goal #2.

So, then our list of things to do goes from showering, brushing our teeth, eating, to… a LOT MORE things, like reading, being healthy, training our patience, etc.

To me, running* is inside the bigger category or being happy and fit. Being happy and being fit is within the bigger category of pushing into goal #2: being a rounded, happy, strong, caring, smart part of the community.

It’s as simple as that. The end. There is no need for someone to remind me I need to brush my teeth, or running?

If want to be THAT person, then I have to get up and out, day after day, PERIOD. 

It’s JUST like pooping, brushing your teeth, drinking water, paying your bills, washing your clothes, showing up to work, and hugging your loved ones. It’s something that is a part of who you are, who you want to be, and your daily routine. It not more than that. It’s a routine.

It doesn’t have to be fun (though you’d be smart to make it fun), it just has to get done.

It’s not motivation, it’s DISCIPLINE.

*running can be substituted by any sports/hobby that makes you happy or fit or healthy. It could be crochet. It could be gardening. It could be anything.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, and more so everyone that will not agree with this would love to hear us fighting exchanging ideas 😉