The other day I sat and hung with a former Olympian long-distance runner. I had never met an Olympian athlete before and was eager to learn more about her.
Lannie was in town to see a foot specialist. Unfortunately, she had overworked her foot to the point of it freezing up. She literally could no longer run.
While I felt sorry for her predicament, I noticed she wanted no sympathy. She was on a mission to get her foot healed and whole. There were no excuses, only more ways to try and win.
She even said to me, “my mother always said I was really good at “pivoting”. I found that interesting as she was now pivoting again to see yet another world-renowned specialist hoping for her foot to be restored.
She had been injured now for almost six months. I could sense a bit of desperation, yet she continued to carry on. She even said to me, “if I have to learn to be a swimmer to get back to the Olympics I will.”
It was an incredible time I got to spend with her.
Let me share some of the thoughts and motivating ideas with you as they were downloaded to me.
1. When you have a mission, you can stay motivated.
Lannie was on a mission to get back to the Olympics. It wasn’t just an idea she had, it was everything she lived for. Her life and mission on Earth were to run and run fast.
Even when her foot could not make the motion to run anymore, she continues to look for a way. Every NO she received meant Next One for her.
What about you, what is your mission? Is it crystal clear?
2. Healthy motivation propels you toward the best version of you.
Motivation can come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. There is positive motivation and there is also negative motivation. Each day you are met with both. It is up to you to decide which one you feed.
For Lannie, her healthy motivation caused her to continue to find a new way. She knew her mission and it motivated her to continue to march toward her dream of making it back to the Olympics.
It would be a total miracle for a girl who cannot run to be able to get back into Olympic form and make it again. This is what Lannie is doing. This is her motivation. This is the highest version of herself.
What about you? What does healthy motivation look like for you?
3. Motivation reminds you of your past success to give you the fuel to carry on.
Many of my clients come to me complaining of all the negative thoughts they have about past failures. They tell me, “I can’t seem to shake them.”
Motivation does the opposite. Motivation will remind you of your past successes. It will replay those moments when you faced a trial and beat it.
Motivation will remind you of what was going to be a loss but turned into a win.
For Lannie, she replayed to me many of her past successes. She told me of the races she won while she was injured. She shared a glowing smile while she shared with me about another race she won to make it into the Olympics.
Her motivation was replaying her success reel, and it was working.
What about you? What is motivation replaying in your mind today?
What do you need to be reminded about?
Rooting for you.
God bless.
Coach Anthony Thompson
P.S. If you’re serious about making a difference in your life and you want to make the best of your transition, let me know. Reply back and let’s see if you and I can work together.
P.S.S. If you’re still checking things out and need some motivation, check out my blog, courses, or merch.