What's your motivation/matra?

adenspilot

adenspilot

Active Member
After reflecting on another thread I've gotten curious about something. I have one or two sentences I say to myself to push myself through long workouts or heavy weights. When I first started out I used to repeat "persist" to myself. It worked great, but I got some funny looks in the gym.

Now I like to think about all the good things I do, (I have PCOS so I do things like 'five more minutes and you're cutting your risk of cancer' 'keep going, keep going, no diabetes') or Cathe, Jai, Loraine, etc and how if I keep going it'll get "easy" for me too.

What things keep you motivated in a workout? In addition what gets everyone wanting to work out?
 
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My mantras are both in my signature:

I run for the woman I was. I run for the woman I am. I run for the woman I will be.

DO IT ANYWAY
 
I've got a few, but my ALL TIME long-standing FAVORITE is:

Keep on Truckin'.

My runnners-up include:

Because I Can.

What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?
 
Cool thread! Have got a couple that I suppose not only apply to working out but can address life in general:

Fall down seven times, stand up eight.

...and this I learned from a very young but surprsingly perceptive pal o' mine:

Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain.
 
I always think about how great I'm gonna feel when the work out is over even if I REALLY don't feel like doing it on a particular day and if I can push through, I will not regret it...and it usually works! :)
 
MidgetDogg said:
I don't have one, I just don't believe in stopping until I'm done.
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I agree with this statement. I just keeping going until I'm done.



I also like this quote. This is a long quote but I think of parts of it when I'm running in a race. It really pushes me to keep going (especially when I'm at the back of the pack).


"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."



Theodore Roosevelt
"Citizenship in a Republic,"
Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910


My motivation for working out on a regular basis has always been for health reasons. As I got older, I watched my parents and others of their generation popping pills for this and that. I don't want to spend my retirement taking pills. As I type this, 3 guys in my office are talking about their high cholesterol and the meds they take. Only one of them works out on a semi-regular basis. I don't want to be part of those conversations.
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great thread

adenspilot said:
(I have PCOS)

What things keep you motivated in a workout? In addition what gets everyone wanting to work out?
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I also have the dreaded PCOS. I tell myself that if I workout (especially cardio.) I will be able to absorb my food (yippee, cardio helps with insulin resistance!!!) also it helps with mood (depression being a common symptom for women with PCOS.)

The mantra I tell myself I learned from Sarah Kline on Yogatoday.com. She said that "Being willing to do one more forever is a great spirit." For some reason that just clicked with me. I don't think of workouts or reps as getting to a golden number of repititions. I think of it as one more forever without that being a terrible thing. It helps me relax into what I am doing and to embrace my situation, whatever that may be. I'm not perfect, I don't always remember to think that way, but it sure helps when I'm at the bottom of a really steep hill and the only way home is straight up.
 
I'm with Saundra. IMHO, the greatest advertising campaign EVER launched.....and my personal mantra since the day I first heard it.......(thanks Nike)

JUST DO IT.
 
And as for my motivation-I'm with Jane. My health.

My husband and I have the following goal for retirement; we want to be healthy enough to take our grandkids to Disney World (and elsewhere) and NOT be the ones in wheelchairs! We plan to travel and enjoy our retirement to the fullest and we consider every workout as a deposit into that account>
 
"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."



Theodore Roosevelt
"Citizenship in a Republic,"
Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910
Click to expand...

I like that one too, I'm a sucker for great men & women who say (& do) great things....:)

I've always liked this one..........4 More!
 
I like the following quote. Not necessarily for exercise motivation but for life in general:

"Don't be afraid your life will end. Be afraid that it will never begin." Grace Hansen in a book called "Dare to Believe"


I love the Teddy Roosevelt one too...:)
 
My name is Carole and I've been working out with Cathe for almost a decade now and, of course, lurking here! Jumping in to this thread.
My personal mantra is to tell myself "I've come too far to quit now" and it seems to work for me. I'm 45, have lost around 35 punds and 5 dress sized with Cathe. Anyway, it's nice to meet you all!

Carole
 
"You will never regret exercising, but always regret NOT exercising."

"Now, isn't this better than dieting?" - this one makes me giggle.

"Do or Do Not. There is no Try." - Master Yoda
 
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