One of the biggest, most publicized runs, the New York Marathon, was this past weekend. This marathon always attracts people far and wide and there are always famous folks or key 'celebrities' running. From Jared the Subway fanatic to Edison Peña, the Chilean miner, there is always a person of interest (to someone, somewhere).
I find it fascinating that running can bring people together so splendidly. There are oodles of articles about running, focusing not only on the benefits but the pitfalls too. Perusing the headlines, I found this article in the NY Times: Running Voices, an interative tour of runners from all backgrounds, highlighting their motivations.
My motivation for being a sometimes runner is so I can enjoy the finer things in life (i.e. food and wine) without paying too dearly on my waistline.
Whatever your motivation I think it helps to learn about why people do it. What motivates someone to run 26.2 miles, often many times over? What motivates someone to just take that first step.
Here is Cleveland there are quite a few fun runs that bring people together. In November I am looking forward not only to the Turkey Trot Thanksgiving Day morning but also the Pigskin Classic that occurs the morning of the classic Ohio State vs. Univ. of Michigan football game.
My run today put me just over the 200 mile mark (202.71 to be exact) for the year. Not terrible considering I started in August but I still have a LONG way to go. I will use the motivation of my fellow runners to keep me on pace and help me achieve my goal.
What motivates you?
Showing posts with label motivation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label motivation. Show all posts
Monday, November 8, 2010
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Organized Anti-
So I was speaking with my friend Liz the other night. Liz, who will be a Challenge participant, for some reason thinks that I'm rather charity minded. I'm not so sure this is true but I guess I shouldn't try to deny what could be deemed as a compliment.
So, as I was saying, I was speaking to Liz the other night and while discussing the Challenge she asked if I was doing this for charity or anything like that. Up to that point, I hadn't really thought about it but I suppose it wouldn't be a horrible idea. Instead of doing this just to be stupid why not do it for a reason? But then what charity? And how? Just donate myself, collect donations from others, start some sort of campaign? Oh, so many decisions! But maybe I'll figure something out.
Then Liz mentioned that there is also an anti-charity option. I wasn't following her crazy talk. My first comment was, "Who hates charities?" Well as it turns out, after only a few more lines of instant messaging we established quite a list of non-profits, causes and events that we hate. I won't get into them as everyone can come up with who/what they hate on their own I'm quite sure. But how does one get involved in something at an anti- angle? Liz tips me off that there is a web site to organize your hatred and spur you on to victory in this or any other challenge called stickK.
In short, it works like this. You go to stickK.com, choose a cause or organization you hate, put the details of your task/challenge/resolution/new leaf and give a form of payment. If you don't meet your goal your money goes to your hated entity. So our plan here is to run a mile everyday for a year, right? But you are realistic and know you're going to need a bit of a kick in the ass once in awhile to keep on schedule. Well you get stickK to be the leg propelling that kick and your hated charity is the boot on the foot making contact with your ass.
Let's say you decide you hate the National Rifle Association. You go to stickK.com, set things up and get down to the business of goal accomplishment. If you screw up and don't achieve your mile-a-day plan, not only will you feel like you've let yourself down for not accomplishing a goal you set for yourself, but also the hated NRA will have your money with your name attached to it. With that money they'll be pushing legislation you don't like, sending you crap in the mail, probably calling you to ask for more money, etc. Nobody wants that. So at some point in February when you wake up and you are a little hungover and you think about rolling over to get some additional sleep rather than going out for a mile jog in the cold, perhaps in the back of your mind you'll think about someone (maybe the ghost of Charlton Heston) at the NRA with a big smile on their face thanks to your donation and maybe, just maybe, that will be enough to drag you out to fulfill your daily obligation.
Self motivate or stickK motivate or go with some other method. The choice is yours. Just be sure to motivate somehow.
So, as I was saying, I was speaking to Liz the other night and while discussing the Challenge she asked if I was doing this for charity or anything like that. Up to that point, I hadn't really thought about it but I suppose it wouldn't be a horrible idea. Instead of doing this just to be stupid why not do it for a reason? But then what charity? And how? Just donate myself, collect donations from others, start some sort of campaign? Oh, so many decisions! But maybe I'll figure something out.
Then Liz mentioned that there is also an anti-charity option. I wasn't following her crazy talk. My first comment was, "Who hates charities?" Well as it turns out, after only a few more lines of instant messaging we established quite a list of non-profits, causes and events that we hate. I won't get into them as everyone can come up with who/what they hate on their own I'm quite sure. But how does one get involved in something at an anti- angle? Liz tips me off that there is a web site to organize your hatred and spur you on to victory in this or any other challenge called stickK.
In short, it works like this. You go to stickK.com, choose a cause or organization you hate, put the details of your task/challenge/resolution/new leaf and give a form of payment. If you don't meet your goal your money goes to your hated entity. So our plan here is to run a mile everyday for a year, right? But you are realistic and know you're going to need a bit of a kick in the ass once in awhile to keep on schedule. Well you get stickK to be the leg propelling that kick and your hated charity is the boot on the foot making contact with your ass.
Let's say you decide you hate the National Rifle Association. You go to stickK.com, set things up and get down to the business of goal accomplishment. If you screw up and don't achieve your mile-a-day plan, not only will you feel like you've let yourself down for not accomplishing a goal you set for yourself, but also the hated NRA will have your money with your name attached to it. With that money they'll be pushing legislation you don't like, sending you crap in the mail, probably calling you to ask for more money, etc. Nobody wants that. So at some point in February when you wake up and you are a little hungover and you think about rolling over to get some additional sleep rather than going out for a mile jog in the cold, perhaps in the back of your mind you'll think about someone (maybe the ghost of Charlton Heston) at the NRA with a big smile on their face thanks to your donation and maybe, just maybe, that will be enough to drag you out to fulfill your daily obligation.
Self motivate or stickK motivate or go with some other method. The choice is yours. Just be sure to motivate somehow.
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