What motivates you to practice karate?
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In all honesty, the only way to do it is to do it. The mistake people make with motivation is that they think it’s something you either have, or you don’t have. Unfortunately, you have to work at motivation. This means you have to actively tell yourself that you will go train; that you will try to learn; that you will dedicate yourself to those techniques and so on. If you sit around waiting for your motivation to come back, it never will.
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Is your goal to reach black-belt or to learn karate? Hopefully the latter, if so then make the effort. Contact your teacher/sensei ask them questions, use the information they have provided for you, do a little each day. This will help to keep motivation high. After all, your sensei would like to see you make that effort.
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Throughout my personal karate journey I have encountered many times where I just wanted to take the day off. I had happy thoughts of pizza and beer (bourbon now) floating through my mind. These thoughts accompanied painful memories of sore muscles, being out of breath, and the pain and bruises of that last sparring session.
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When you focus on these things this way, you’re going to naturally flow towards the only activity you see as having a positive outcome, pizza and beer! You feel that being lazy and eating comfort foods is going to give you that “hit” of satisfaction.
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What I would ask you to do is flip the script in your mind. When you find yourself feeling that resistance towards working out or training, shift your focus from the pain of the work, to the pleasure of the result!
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Also, shift your attitude about being lazy. When you think about that little bit of instant gratification, that little hit of satisfaction you’ll get from taking the day off, tie that thought to how shitty it felt when you were really out of shape. Think about how binge eating and idleness got you to a place you didn’t want to be. Remember how it felt to have no energy, and to hate what you saw in the mirror. Now think about the fact that “taking the day off” will get you right back there…yuck!
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Where your focus goes, your energy flows, my friend. ??
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? Photo Credit: TRAVEL 67 : Chris Willson Photography: Takashi Kinjo 10th dan Uechi Ryu 80 years of age and his wife Masami Kinjo.