It's probably the biggest key component to success for anything in life really. I guess with most things in life, if there's something you want or would like to achieve, your chances of getting them are closely related to how badly you want them.
I'm not really sure where I'm going with this. Just some things I was thinking about when I was drilling it on my way home trying to beat the rain. This morning I was trying to decide how hard I would be able to ride today. My legs were still tired at first, but after I got warmed up, I decided to do a little 20 minute test dig. I felt ok and the numbers were good, but I still thought just riding to work easy was probably a better plan than what I had originally planned. The desire was there, but logic trumped motivation.
Fast forward to a few hours ago, The motivation turned to survival mode as I was trying to get home before I got poured on or struck by lightning. I guess my point is that some times it doesn't matter how tired or busy or whatever you are, if the motivation is right, you can go harder than you think.
That doesn't mean you should kill it every time you ride a bike, but there are times when you need to throw it down hard if you want to improve.
I think having the desire to succeed and being highly motivated are only part of the puzzle. I've known several guys from way back that had TONS of natural talent. Very gifted athletes, but the desire to be a champion was not there. Personally from a genetic standpoint, I don't think I'm anything special, but I've stuck with racing bicycles for a long time now. I'm still improving and learning, so as long as that's the case and I'm still having fun, I think I'll stick with it for a while.
There's a video going around that's pretty funny.
Anyway, I'm just rambling off into another tangent that I don't need to worry about.
I'm not going to lie......I'm trying to be patient, but I'm pretty motivated and excited to start racing. The timing of everything seems good. Same with beating that storm in.
I was reading a book completely unrelated to cycling yesterday that had an anecdote on this subject.
ReplyDeleteA fan came up to a champion golfer and said "I'd love to play golf like you do." The golfer answered "no you wouldn't." The fan got a little defensive and said "No..really...I would do anything to do what you do."
The golfer put his clubs down and faced the fan. He said "So many people say that to me; but nobody is willing to do what I did in order to do what I did. I used to get up at 5 a.m. every day and hit golf balls until my hands bled. I would hit and hit and hit and continue practicing hours after everyone else was gone. No one is willing to do what I did, but everyone wants to do what I do."
It is so true. So many people want to be faster...want to be richer...want to be smarter, etc; but not everybody is motivated to put the effort in now so that they can reap the benefit later.
Great post as always Joey!