Morning motivation: reader favorite

This week's morning motivation first appeared more than a year ago, and remains a reader favorite:

"It hurts up to a point and then it doesn't get any worse."

~Ann Trason, ultrarunner

Morning motivation: give 100% (or not)

Whatever you do, give 100%.
(Unless you're giving blood.)

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Under what other conditions are you happy to give less than 100%?

Morning motivation (Play ball!)

Today's motivation is in honor of baseball spring training and Babe Ruth's famous quote (grammar issues and all):

"Never allow the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game."

Morning motivation: be happy

Be happy with what you have while working for what you want...

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Morning motivation (run!)

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Get out there and run.

Morning motivation

Read this story about Iván Fernández Anaya.

That is all.

Image source

Morning motivation (from Austin)

Sometimes motivation comes in strange packages...

Today's excellent advice is brought to you by bridge graffiti in Austin, Texas...

Never Give Up

Morning motivation: happy

"Be happy with what you have while working for what you want..."

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Morning motivation

A series of life events recently reminded me of words of wisdom a co-worker spoke many years ago:

"If something scared me, I knew I should probably do it."

The speaker is a successful professional who traveled the world and later in life adopted two children. Heck, she's a busy lady. She might not even remember saying those words. But they stuck with me.

Each of the major steps we take in life is scary... moving out of a family home, starting a career, buying a house, moving to a new city, entering a relationship, ending a relationship, having kids, adopting kids, running a first 5k/half/marathon/triathlon, changing a career, traveling abroad, taking a leave of absence to pursue a lifelong dream...

All of those things are scary.
Yet all are richly rewarding experiences.

Likewise, we should not make decisions just because we are scared of what might happen otherwise. We shouldn't stay still just because the devil we know is better than the devil we don't.

So, it's with that in mind that today's morning motivation is to get out and do one productive thing that scares you... just one little thing out of your comfort zone.

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... and when you do, post a comment and let us know what you conquered today!

Morning motivation

Today, as I hobble around the house and wince every time I even look at the stairs, I'm not feeling terribly motivated...

Source: Uploaded by user via Melissa on Pinterest

(Whoops. Homer Simpson's "Trying is the first step towards failure" isn't exactly the motivational message I was looking for...)

It's good to remember that not everything in life is supposed to be easy... Here are some of my go-to reminders:

"It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all - in which case, you fail by default."
J.K. Rowling

Source: losing-every-extra-pound.tumblr.com via Heidi on Pinterest
"Failure's not an option. It's a step."

"Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional."
Haruki Murakami

What motivates you after a setback?

Morning motivation

Today's motivation...

"You've got to get up every morning with determination if you're going to go to bed with satisfaction."
George Lorimer

Morning motivation

Yesterday morning, my training calendar mocked me from the refrigerator door.

"Run!" It said.
"My legs are tired!" I replied.
"Run!" It repeated.
"I hiked all afternoon yesterday. I should reschedule." I whined.

But after much hemming and hawing, I pulled on a pair of running shorts and a sports bra, grabbed my sunglasses, and sat on the bottom step of my hallway stairs, staring at my shoes. I checked email. I Tweeted. I read a news article. In short, I procrastinated.

And still the shoes sat there.

There is an expression among even the most advanced runners that getting your shoes on is the hardest part of any workout.
Kathrine Switzer

Finally, I decided that I'd go out and run for 15 minutes.* Just 15 minutes. If my legs truly felt worn out, I could postpone my 2-hour long run by a day. If, however, the legs felt good, I'd keep going and wouldn't come home until at least 120 minutes passed.

I'm sure you know where this is going, but 15 minutes into the run, I realized I felt fine. A little tired. A little hungry. But fine. No pain. No soreness. No lead legs.

I ran for the whole two hours, and celebrated with a long, hot shower, and a gigantic post-run brunch.

My mind nearly prevented me from going on what was a very successful long run. My mind thought "two hours" and balked, because that seemed so... l o n g. But when I broke the task up into just a small first step, and then a few more, it didn't seem so bad after all.

I wonder, if I stayed home, would I have the same feeling of accomplishment?
(Probably not.)
Would I have felt like a wuss?
(Probably.)

The moral of this story:
Get out the door. Some days that's the hardest part.

Source: piccsy.com via Beth on Pinterest

What motivates you when you need an extra push?


*A Twitter nudge from @TheStoutRunner and a Facebook comment from Erica helped with my motivation. True story.

Morning motivation

Today's motivating force is a little tongue in cheek...

Enjoy!

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What's on your get-it-done list this week?

Morning motivation

If the stories of random acts of kindness in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, and registered New York City marathon runners making the best of their cancelled-marathon situation don't warm your heart and inspire you to go out and do something great today, I don't know what will...

New Jersey children start a hot chocolate stand to collect money for Red Cross hurricane relief efforts
Image source

Have a great week, friends!

Morning motivation

There is no such thing as bad weather only...
... soft people.
... inappropriate clothing.
... different kinds of good weather.

While I'm a fan of this mindset in general, I believe hurricanes DO count as bad weather, regardless of what the quote says.

So for those of you in Sandy's path, I wish you safe passage through the storm.

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And for those of you who aren't...

What are you doing sitting inside? It's a beautiful day!

Get out and play!

Source: someecards.com via Jeanne on Pinterest

What's the foulest weather you've ever experienced?
What bad weather will keep you indoors?

Morning motivation

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Morning motivation

5 months.
2,500 miles traveled on foot.
More than 300,000 feet of total elevation gain/loss over the course of the trek.

And a few words of wisdom learned from the journey...

Hiking from Mexico to Canada along the Pacific Crest Trail (video)

The video is about 90 seconds long, and the parting thoughts are worth the wait (there's an advertisement that plays first).

Happy Monday, all!

Morning motivation

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Morning motivation

Today's motivation is more than an inspirational meme.

'Cause love's such an old fashioned word
And love dares you to care for
The people on the edge of the night
And loves dares you to change our way of
Caring about ourselves...
~Queen, Under Pressure

But first let me take a step back to Saturday night...
Def Leppard. Beastie Boys. Twisted Sister. Journey. Van Halen. Salt 'n' Peppa. Joan Jett. Run D.M.C. Starship. And, of course, Queen. All in one show.

Hubby and I went to see 1980s cover band The Molly Ringwalds. For two hours we danced like no one was watching. Hubby even downloaded a cigarette lighter app so we could wave lights in the air the way we would have during a rock ballad at a concert in the late '80s. (But this is 2012 not 1982. No one carries a lighter anymore.)

Then most of the band left the stage.

Spotlights converged on the lone remaining singer as he started a call-and-response homage to the late Freddy Mercury. If you were sentient in the mid 1980s, or if you watched the Olympic closing ceremonies this summer, you know what I mean.

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In 1986 Freddie Mercury belted out a goosebump-inducing call-and-response with the crowd at Wembley Stadium. Even as he sang his heart out, Mercury was already suffering serious health problems from HIV/AIDS. He passed away a mere five years later. But, even knowing the history, what affects me most about that particular performance is the audience singing as one.


So on Saturday night, listening to the audience around me, all voices rising together, I had a sense of pride and joy. The same pride-and-joy I feel surrounded by a wave of runners and the sound of pounding feet at the start of a race.

It is an incredible sight to behold so many people working in harmony.

Once the audience proved it's ability to keep up with the call-and-response, the band returned to the stage and launched into a cover of "Under Pressure" that got the crowd dancing and singing.

So by now you're wondering:
What does this all have to do with motivation?

Hearing hundreds of voices belting out "Love Love Love Love Love" at the top of their voices made me wonder: If a little call-and-response can get us to all sing together, what else can a little nudge - a little inspiration - do?

So today your inspiration is to commit one random, spontaneous act of love. Love your significant other. Love an annoying co-worker. Love a struggling runner. Love yourself a little more.

And in the comments, let us all know about an act of love you've witnessed.

Morning motivation

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