Excitement vs. Motivation
At Ascension MMA, we have a sub-group of folks who are loosely called "gym rats." They are basically students who have been attending class and training regularly for many months and even years. As a result, they are among the more mature and most technical in the gym. They are usually the "lifers" who are the best ones in the sport. This is not necessarily because of talent but mainly consistency.
The difference between excitement and motivation is this: When one first starts out learning a skill, there is EXCITEMENT of what one can become in the "near" future. The "newness" of any activity generates the energy of wanting to achieve and conquer. Usually, a new student believes he/she will have impressive sweeps or (like in the field of Fine Arts) have the innate capacity to make beautiful songs with her new guitar in a matter of months. When the realization sets in that it will take more than the amount of time they had in mind to improve in their chosen field, the feeling of quitting sets in. Many establishments today make plenty of money from the initial excitement of clients who just attend once-in-a-blue-moon. Without excitement, I believe not very many projects would have even been started that has brought mankind to its many advances (i.e, space travel). As short-lived as it is, we need excitement as an impetus for a forward momentum in any activity or goal. Excitement has its place and it belongs at the starting point. It helps propel us, but we should not always rely on it to exercise.
MOTIVATION, on the other hand, is the will to keep going even when the weather is not right, after a long day's work, or when one keeps losing in their chosen sport. It stays in the middle where we give ourselves the right reasons to sustain and maintain the activity. Motivation is the decision to keep improving, despite the time it will take. Motivation fuels stamina and perseverance. What people perceive as talent is probably just skill honed over thousands of hours of practice.
Talented athletes or artists have accepted that they will spend a large time, probably alone, improving their skill or craft. What you see during awards night is a mere sliver of that time the person put into honing their skill. Motivation is usually anchored to the "why" more than the "what"; it is the reason we do the things we do. For instance, if you have to get me up really early in the morning to hunt for sport (I definitely do not hunt), chances are, you will be hunting by yourself. But if hunting will be the means to feed my family, you can count me in.
We all have to take responsibility for our personal growth (physical, mental, spiritual, social, educational, etc) and be industrious in improving ourselves so we continue to thrive. Regarding physical health: I suggest we all figure out the "why" of our exercise regimen. We all have to start at the excitement phase, but if it is not meaningful enough to us, then we probably will not get too far.
Dig deep. Level up.
In His Grip,
Jeremiah Veloso
