Running in a Wintery December

December 17, 2013

Motivation

I often get asked how I stay motivated. I can’t rightly give you an answer that doesn’t sound like it’s full of rainbows and unicorns. Y’know… sappy… like nestled below the layers of my get-out-the-door-edness just a sprinkle of pixie dust and the world of procrastination evaporates into a magical cloud of simplicity and ease.

It’s not that at all.

In fact, it’s hard.

My shoes don’t find their way onto my feet as easily as you might think.

Excuses queue up for hours waiting for their turn.

In fact, these days it doesn’t take much for me to heave a great big sigh and look out into the blowing cold, the slippery sidewalks and… flop: back to the couch. I need to kick myself, remind myself, that every kilometer now is one easier step later on.

Pathfinding

What really gets me out the door is the exploration of it all. I am, at heart, a pathfinder. A trail-seeker. An urban explorer, seeking out the nooks and crannies of the city that some people take for granted.

It’s the trail that weaves in behind your house.

It’s that path that winds through the park by the bus-stop.

It’s the footbridge you drive under every day and always wonder: how do I get up there and what would it lead me to if I crossed it?

That’s what really gets me out the door.

The camera in my hand, a tactic I’ve employed with some minor fanfare over the past year, has helped.

Finding trails.

Photographing trails.

The ultimate exercise selfie: an auto-snapped pic of one lonely guy on a frozen trail dodging through the paths with nothing but his technology.

There is motivation in that, too. If you know where to look for it, of course.