About Motivation, Then and Now
From Don't Make Waves
Download the full Draper here newsletter
in printable, live-link, pdf format, here.
If I stare at the computer screen long enough, one of two things happen: I come up with an idea for a newsletter, or my head explodes. The newsletters are dull and dumb, but harmless (shoot me), whereas an exploding head is messy and noisy.
Such are the predicaments that occupy my mind as hurricanes ravage our seaboards, wars torment foreign nations, draughts and famine, poverty and genocide devastate populations and celebs suffer gut-wrenching botox injections.
This Wednesday, in a gallant effort to ease global turmoil, I shall forego the construction of the latest IOL Report and revisit the bombastic and detonating words delivered to you eight years ago. It was October 2003, and we were young and wild and carefree -- before tweets, before $5 gas, before Katrina and Irene, before the fall of western civilization.
As the author was prolific in ’03 (a windbag), I shall divide the chaos into two parts, offering Part One today and Part Two -- wait for it -- next week. It’s about motivation and training and iron and quitting, and finally, letting go ’cuz you can’t stand it any longer. Let’s call it Enough Already, I and II.
Just kidding! Har, har! The real title is Lack of Motivation. For the fun of it, I won’t edit or change a word.
... Lack of Motivation… 2003
Staying motivated when the world is coming down on all sides is a problem many of us face regularly. We don’t have to go very far before we trip over an obstacle, encounter a detour or fall into a deep, fiery pit where monsters live. Whether getting to the gym across town, entering the foreboding doors to the iron tonnage in the garage or approaching the bench -- the torture rack -- in the basement, heaviness in the heart and mind is like lead in the seat of our pants. I want candy, TV and the couch, you think, but your fat and skinny conscience fights like a rabid dog.
You’re a tough one; you made it and there they are, the roly-poly weights and all the neat benches, pulleys and gadgets you could think of, ready for action. You say, why me, why today... why? Because, that’s why. Why is the sky blue? Because, that’s why. You don’t need an answer; the answer is in the first set. You’re here and good fight begins.
It’s those of us who don’t make it to the gym floor or accept the clever, all-inclusive answer "Because, that’s why" who have the big problem. Purpose has withered; it has become less than the need. Motivation has become clouded by the haze of the days. Inspiration, like dry fruit on a sunless tree, has lost its sweetness. Drive has stalled with the lack of direction. And there is little enthusiasm when the destination is forgotten.
But wait, there’s more. Miss one workout and we surely miss two and three and four. We get soft, weak, unhealthy, unkempt, undisciplined, unstructured, irritable, rude and ugly. We eat fast food, stock the fridge with beer, stay up late watching TV, lose the job and back the pickup into the neighbor’s candy-apple red ’65 Ford Cobra. What a mess. Those aluminum bodies cannot take the bumper of an unruly 4-wheel drive.
Stop. You’re killin’ me. I can’t take it anymore.
Let’s make a list of the enemies that attack our daily lives, bringing us down from the sky where we fly. We will set apart the assailants and devise counteractions to the common destructive force to all muscle builders: lack of motivation.
Oh boy, where do we begin? Remember, this is not an exercise to summarize the negatives and wallow in the pain; it is a sweep of the dirt, crust and garbage that gathers around us over the years and needs to be attended. To see it is to know it, dumping what we can and keeping the remainder in a stinky pile by the work shed. Yeah, it’s there, but it’s out of the way. I don’t smell anything. Do you smell anything?
1) World weariness... This mean-faced, two-faced and two-fisted scoundrel has been a creepy dweller since the day there were two or more inhabitants, a long time ago. We are the chief contributors to his cause, along with thunder, lightning, wind, rain and fire. It’s the economy, stupid... nothing that a stack of hundreds wouldn’t fix. Not really; tell that to the mother of a kid who’s lifeless after a high school shooting. Did we elect these politicians to manage our homeland or cause its implosion? They’re a bunch of crooks and boneheads. And, by the way, what is the level of terrorist alert this fine morning? Sorry I’m late, dear. Some man was threatening to throw his infant onto the freeway unless we improve our highways, something about tax dollars and freedom of expression under a recent amendment to the Constitution. He’s got a whole bunch of supporters standing in the middle of Route 1 chanting, “Kids against traffic.”
Bomber Note, 8-31-2011: The editor-in-chief at this point gave me the heads-up I was becoming, well, almost negative. “Tone it down, ya blockhead.”
Yeah, right!
The good news -- there’s a gym down the street where the iron overcomes discouragement, the burn replaces anger and the pump brings copious joy. The camaraderie on the floor lifts up the spirits and the muscle and might fight crime, slime and grime. Grab a dumbbell and the world is in your hand, grab two you hold the universe and its energy. Throw a bar on your back and time and space are at your command.
Do you guys have a Jacuzzi… aerobic classes … exercise balls… tanning booths… a juice bar… a free one-week pass?
Next week the saga continues where we left off, wherever that is.
2) Injury and illness...
3) Plateaus...
4) The home front...
5) Job and career...
6) Relationships...
7) The gym…
8) Personal resolutions...
9) Training uncertainty...
10) Nutrition…
Smile! Life is good. Seriously!
Bomber Blend makes you strong and adorable and intelligent… Dave
<<< Godspeed >>>
See ya… da bommas
>>>>>
Everyone has heard of the light at the end of the tunnel, but few have experienced it… or know anyone who has. Lo and behold, Laree D has, and it is neither daylight nor the headlight of an oncoming train. It is the 3.5 hour, three-disc DVD series by Dan John called Intervention: Course Corrections for the Athlete and Trainer.
Three months ago Dan John gave an in-depth seminar about the fundamentals and intricacies of correct training structure for the focused athlete. Cameras rolled as he described, demonstrated and detailed on blackboards the functional movement systems and their achievement. In the ensuing months, Laree edited the raw material, arranged it for clear understanding and added files of related information to present a bright light to which few tunnels lead.
Here’s a quick look: Dan John -- Intervention, new release!
---
Take a trip over to our
New Musclebuilding Q&A Blog
... where Dave allows us a peek into his email outbox.
Did you sign up for Dave's expanded email yet?
It's free, motivating and priceless!
We'll also send you a link to Dave's free
Body Revival Tips and Hints e-report with your confirmation notice.