What motivates me is the fact that my son has only ONE healthy parent as his dad is now a hard core drug addict (cocaine, meth and heroin). Never started out that way but that’s where he is now…it dragged me down considerablly and while I lost my mind, confidence and ability to be able to take care of my son, nevermind myself….I found the courage to first get custody of my son, while seeing a psychologist and then gradually started eliminating all the bad stuff: no juice, no packaged food, no take out, no artificial sweeters, cut out sugar in my coffee etc….because I have to be well for my son! I am at peace psychologically, I am slowly incorporating healthy food in my diet, starting exercise again and vow to NEVER allow anyone or anything to willingly defeat me again! I love ROCKY!!!
Today was Movie Day—a day in which I do nothing but watch movies, and I try to have one at least once a month.
You see, I love movies :-)
And today, perhaps to rekindle my inner child, I spent 91 minutes watching a movie that I literally watched every day for an entire summer when I was 12 years old: Rocky IV.
Now, you may not agree with me that Rocky IV is one of the best movies of all time, but if you’re a Rocky fan at all, you’ve GOT to agree that it’s the absolute best out of all the Rockies (and there will be time to debate that later if you don’t :-)
I mean, what a great story, right? Rocky, avenging his best friend Apollo’s death by defeating the highly-favored, monstrous Russian on his own turf in Russia−even for someone who’s seen it 79 times like me, it’s pretty intense stuff.
But apart from that, even if you somehow didn’t care for the movie (and I can’t imagine how), Rocky IV can still teach you something extremely valuable and applicable to you and your own goals.
And that is, the raw power of motivation.
Let’s be honest, if Rocky had gone in to fight the Drago prior to Apollo or at any other time, under any other circumstances, he would have got his butt handed to him. The dude was a monster, and had Rocky outmatched in every possible way.
But because Rocky had something extremely powerful to motivate him (the fact that this guy killed his best friend), he was able to seemingly defeat some crazy odds and emerge victorious.
Let me ask you a question: What’s YOUR motivation? What is it that gets you up in the morning and over to the gym before work when everyone else is sleeping in?
What is it that allows you to regularly pass up the quick and easy (and frankly, delicious) foods that so many others regularly indulge in?
Do you have a REAL source of motivation? If you don’t, it’s highly likely you’re going to get “knocked out” by all the temptation and “easy ways out” that surround us on a daily basis.
Let’s face it, it’s a heck of a lot easier to eat whatever, whenever, and skip the whole workout thing then it is to live a fit, healthy lifestyle.
You absolutely have to have a very powerful source of motivation, because without one, your toast.
So do you have a source of motivation that keeps you going strong toward your goals each and every day? What is it?
Reaffirm it by posting it in the comments section below to start today off with renewed focus (and if you don’t value your “reason” enough to post it below, it’s probably safe to say that you don’t really have one).
Talk to you in the comments section!
Joel
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my motivation is knowing that I can do it. Knowing that one day soon I am goin to reach a goal that I have been stiving to reach for years. My motivation is also the negativity that lurks in the darkness telling me I can’t or I shouldn’t lose so much weight. I’m ready for the change and everything that comes with it. I know exactly what i have to do too get there and i can’t let anyone or anything stand in my way of success. Victory’s within the mile, almost there can’t give up now!!! Thanks
A life long battle of the bulge and a predispostion to being heavy genetically. I’ve watched my weight all my life and have been mostly a few pounds overweight, usually only a few, but always wanting to be thinner, fitter.
So at 47 I continue my quest. Sometimes successfully, sometimes not. But I will never give up. I have serious back issues so some work out moves are impossible, but i do my best.
Oh, and the fact that my husband is 18 years younger than me and a hottie keeps me on my toes!
my motivation is two things actually. one is my husband. I want to see that fire in his eyes like he had when we were first married telling me I am hot. After 3 kids, I don’t look like I used too. secondly, I want to get as strong as possible for whenever the Lord wants to bless us with a fourth child.:)
Surprising the number of comments from some of us older folks. I am 66 and am in, possibly, my best shape since being in the Army. For 1+ years, I’ve been really pushing myself to get lean and hard; I’m there. Primary motivation: to take care of my wife. She has a few debilitating diseases and, in the years ahead, I’ll probably have to expend a lot of energy and physical strength to take care of her. She is my motivation, and that’s what I’m training for.
Motivation to be healthy is no different than the motivation to get up in the morning, to go to work, to live each day to the fullest and there are so many factors that play into my motivation. To begin with, of course there is the selfish desire to look and feel better…thence feel better about myself; then there is the desire to be as healthy as possible for my family so we can spend the many years we have left together doing the things we enjoy doing and not being bound to a body that has been plagued by years of inactivity and can no longer do what it needs to do; then last but certainly not least, is that me living a healthy life is what God wants from me…He wants & needs me to be healthy, vibrant, full of life and energy so I can accomplish what He has placed before me to accomplish without having problems with my physical body holding me back for those tasks. Besides, what kind of a witness would I be, as a Christian, if my life looked like it came right out of a movie (which some could say it does) and I am miserable about every aspect of it…oh no not this chic! I love life and I want everything in me to display that love for life!
My motivation comes from the different goals I set myself, in the last 3 years i’ve dropped 25kgs of fat and put on 20kgs of muscle. This year my main goal is to become a ripped 90kgs (198lbs) @ 5% bodyfat. Last year I was 82kgs @ 5% bodyfat. My mini goals are to increase my total wide-grip pullups and increase the size of my quads and depth of my squat (poor ankle flexibility).
1. Rocky III is far more motivating -for me. If I watch it at 11pm I will want to drop and crank out a bunch of push-ups and run around the house!
2. Both but especially Drago is clearly juiced to the max and that kind of takes the “pure” motivational factor down .
BUT… the “steam room”scene IS classic!
I too love all the Rocky movies-EXCEPT V …which sucked- and have passed that on to my 9 year old boys!
I don’t have a motivation at the moment :( Normally it is a holiday somewhere hot, but as I now live in Australia, hot is a fairly commen thing and 42 degrees Celcius (107 FARENHEIT) makes workout motivation just as hard as a cold dark morning!
I have to say excercise for me is a habit. Thanks for this article, it shows I need something to shake things up a bit :)
My motiviation: Myself. I used to be fat. NO discipline, no energy, and i hated myself. I decided one summer to change myself, and ever since then i have continued to work harder and push myself every week.
What motivates me is that I recently moved to LA, the week after I got married, to pursue stuntwork and modeling. Both fields require you to be in great shape. Stuntwork especially. I have dreamed of being a stuntman my whole life and is my goal to in the very best shape and be the most skilled possible in order to add to the entertainment value of the films we all enjoy watching. I made the biggest step by quitting my regular job to pursue my dream, now I train to be the best and make sure to provide for my lovely wife to now sure she is taken care of.
I find I have the constant underlying motivation to simply take pride in my appearance… If I feel good, I look good & visa versa. But then I use short term goals for added motivation as well… Just to keep the intensity up. My current motivation is to look my ultimate best for my 10 year school reunion in 4 weeks!
The mirror. I love what I see in the mirror every morning. I train 6-7days a week with home DVD’s like P90X and have been doing that for 2+ years…I keep doing it because I love how I feel after a workout. I love how I feel at work, and I love what my body looks like. It’s not a temporary change…its a lifetime of making better choices daily. Sometimes a struggle but, deep motivation to not want to go backwards.
My motivation is to be a role model for older women, I am 70 and have just gotten back from 6am bootcamp, I have had 6 kids and am size 10. My goal for 2011 is I have entered the New York Marathon, I have read about the course since I entered and it certainly will be a challenge, my goal is 4hr 45 min.
So if you are an older person reading this don’t think you are beyond becoming super fit. Age is only a number.
I am in the process of creating a website for deconditioned women that is user freindly sprinkled with touch love.
I have arthritis in my knees (as well as elsewhere) and have had a round of injections in my left knee. After being told that the next step would be a replacement (or wheelchair as I can’t afford the surgery), I became determined to strengthen my leg muscles and lose 65 pounds. Only 3 pounds left to go. I’m thinking of dropping an additional 5 or 10 since I’ve also lost about 2½ inches in height over the last 20 years. Less weight, less stress on the joints. If I ever start to think about skipping a day at the gym, I envision a wheelchair and get moving.
That wearwolf off twilight 3 who has an incredible body according to every woman, I belive im only 6 months hard work off achieving that so guys thats whats gunna get me up in the mornings… Big up to everyone who has stated their goals, there is no single person that can’t achieve them.
One year ago Valentines day, I had 5 way by-pass surgery. I was getting ready for knee replacement and my EKG showed there was a preoblem. I was pissed becaise i wanted my knee fixed not my heart. My wife kicked my butt and told me how lucky I was because most people don’t get the chance I was given. I am just 55 and decided that I need to be around for a while longer so I have dedicated my self to a life of self betterment so I can be of serviceto my students and participate in life along with my family. I have discarded 60 pounds of fat and added about 10 pounds of lean muscle Life is Great.
For me its proving everyone wrong when they told me I couldn’t do it when I first started because of my genetics. I still haven’t reached my goal do to injury but I’m ready to get back at it and I can’t wait to prove everyone wrong.
My motivation is to no longer waste my life living in a body that is less than it can and should be.
I’m 18 and my motivation is that from the age 8 I have had juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. As a kid and young teenager kids in my class would sometimes make fun of the way I walked even if it wasn’t always direct I still felt the degredation. At the age of 15 I finally got the right diagnosis and started to go to physical therapy. At 16 I was still a little chubby and the doctor reccomended I lose some weight to take the pressure off my inflamed knees I joined tiger schulmanns mixed martial arts and I competed in a 90 day weight loss competition. I came in 2nd in my school and lost 33 pounds! My motivation is that even with my condition (which has gotten a lot better) people had low expectations of me and I’m proving them wrong. Now every1 in my family looks at me as the fit and healthy one to go to for help.
P.S. I also love rocky!!!
Initially, it was to get in shape. After two-and-a-half relentless years, I do it because it’s easy. No cravings, no cheating, no off days and no skipping workouts.
Hey, only seen Rocky 1, so I can’t pass judgement (allthough I heard he beats the crap out of Hulk Hogan in no. 3 – could be worth seeing). My motivation is girls. No attractive chick is gonna wanna be seen with a tubby teen ;)
at 40, I began to get out of bed to aches and pains. Now at 45, most aches have diminished with good eating habits, stretching with yoga and the power of full body workouts. Getting to a size 36 waist was a wake up call. Because past that, you never get it back. I’m back to a 33. My core muscles have never been stronger.
My motivation is that inner voice that says your only as old as you feel. I get up at 5:00 AM 6 days a week to insure the time for a workout, and a time of reflection. I can’t imagine life without it at this point. And I agree with you that Rocky 4 is a great motivating movie to get back to basics of what makes your inner fire burn.
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Hey, it’s Joel! So you want to know a little more about me, huh? Well, I’d be happy to oblige :-)
I guess it all started back in 2001 (my freshman year of college) when I was just a “skinny fat” 19-year old kid. At the time, I was spending close to 2 hours a day in the gym (now my workouts last about 30 minutes), and despite my efforts, you’d probably never guess I worked out a day in my life by looking at me...