Talent/Success
I was always pretty good at XC and track in elementary school but was never something spectacular and never really won any races. My first year of high school came and I had a pretty successful year by finishing 2nd in my regional race and placing 32nd at OFSAA XC for Midget Boys. Now, I would like to be able to say for certain that even if I was not as talented as I am now I would still be just as motivated to run. However, that is just about impossible to find out. I feel like starting a sport in high school with this relative amount of success obviously motivated me to continue it and experience this success again. But after competing in this sport for 4+ years and having continued to stay motivated after many unsuccessful moments, I really do not think my talent/success is a viable source for my motivation anymore.
Expectations
Now when people expect something of you, I feel it leads to motivation to fulfill these expectations people have placed upon you. After receiving some success in my first year of high school running, I began to feel some of these expectations from others and myself. I had always heard these stories of these high school runners who performed really well early on and had tons of promise but faded out and never really could fulfill the expectations placed upon them. In my early running years, I feared this the most as an athlete and the last thing I wanted to do was end my running career in regret knowing that I did not do my best to fulfill my expectations. Now this obviously is not a good motivation but it is one that I'm sad to admit was one of the main reasons why I continued running in my first year of high school. Now if this had stayed as a big motivation for me, I don't think that I would have continued running very long and would have probably given up a long time ago. I'm happy to say that nowadays this motivation has completely faded and I don't worry about the expectations of myself or others to continue my running career.
Goals
It is probably safe to say that most of the kids that grow up playing sports have the goal of either competing in the Olympics and/or playing professionally. I too shared this goal for the longest time and after receiving some success in running, this became a super long term goal for me. I know I should (insert Justin Bieber movie title) and continue to believe this dream but I think its pretty safe to say that this is probably nothing short of a pipe dream. However, I feel that I still can find motivation from setting more attainable and shorter term goals. This season, my main goal is to hit Junior Nationals standard in the 1500m (3:57.00) and although it won't be easy, I think it is very possible with the fitness I am currently in. This just motivates me even more as I have set a goal I think I can attain and know my season is a success if I can do it. Having a goal to focus on is good because I feel it gives me a purpose to what I am doing and motivates me to focus on what is needed to achieve it.
Interest
After running competitively for numerous years, I have grown to really enjoy the sport and have a strong interest into almost all aspects of it. Whether it's going for long runs or competing on the track, I really enjoy what I am doing and this is a massive motivation for myself. If you enjoy doing something, you get motivated to do it again just to feel that sense of enjoyment and running is something that I get a ton of enjoyment from. Even attending meets or watching meets online gives me motivation to compete well and achieve my goals and dreams to be become as good as an athlete I can be. I can't imagine anything that can be more motivating than watching Cole Hannam drop a dirty 1:54 800m PB in January and just motivates me to do the same. I would have to say that this section is the one that I receive the strongest motivation and really drives me to achieve the success that I want in this sport.
What/Where it Brings me
As mentioned earlier, every young persons dream when competing in a sport is to hopefully one day be able to make money and have a career in the sport. Although this was a big motivation that could fall under this category, the bigger motivation for me in this category is the experiences that are along the way. I feel like being a student-athlete/competitive athlete is a great opportunity and chance to experience so many unique things. Being able to travel to meets in places that you would never otherwise go. Meeting people and making friends with people that are working towards the same goal as you with similar interests and mindsets. Living a healthy and active lifestyle, giving you a higher quality of life. Without running, I would have none of these things and feel that I would be living a life that is not as good as the one I'm living now.
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| It's Maltese hunting szn |
I'm proud to say that this is the case for me.
-Simone