Sometimes it can be easy to start something, but difficult to maintain. You can get into training for example, with so much enthusiasm and initially maintain it for some time, but then after a while the motivation and energy can take a small dip.
It’s natural of course to have periods of more energy and periods of less energy though; remember our bodies and minds can only take so much and do need to rest and recover. But sometimes it can last for long periods.
When this happens, you may continue training and putting in the effort, but at times it feels as if something is missing, something that you can’t put your finger on. This can happen because we sometimes get too comfortable following a routine, or being complacent where we are. Training to maintain yourself, and training to constantly improve yourself are two different things. When you are aiming at improving yourself, you need to make sure that you are progressing and bettering whatever you have done. At times you will need to push your body and mind further than it has been before. Doing this takes a great deal of effort, and for an unmotivated person, it can prove to be quite a challenge, and thus such a person will rather do the ‘easier’ thing and stay where they are.
Initially it can be very exciting and enjoyable, but after some time when life gets ahead of you and you are just trying to keep moving forward, you start to just go with the routine and do just enough to keep at it without really improving as much as you could or should.
A great way to get out of this cycle and renew your energy and zest for training is to periodically change things up by training with people totally different, or someone way more advanced than you. By doing this, you forcefully challenge yourself to try keep up with them and by seeing how good other people are out there, it ignites that spark in you again to be better! Also training with other motivated people can help a great deal to keep you going and moving forward in your training and in life.
Make sure to surround yourself with the right people, after all, it is said that you take on the strongest traits of the people you constantly surround yourself with.
For example, I recently had the opportunity to train with Nkululeko from Team Gravity Core and after that training session, it was amazing how much more energy I had, to get back to the basics and try to improve certain things to be able to get on par with him. His core strength and skill level is much more advanced than mine and thus seeing him in action really helped motivate me a lot.
It is small things like this that show us that there are still so many exciting things to strive for, and that it is actually possible and within reach.
