What Motivates Us?

I look at my schedule on a daily basis and especially Tuesdays, and I say to myself, "Why? Why would anyone put themselves through this? For what is the end result?

(Tuesday)

• Alarm goes off at 4 a.m.
• Prepare breakfast for kids and wife from 4 to 4:30.
• Run from 4:45 to 6 a.m.(Doobie has to leave for bible study at 6), then jump on treadmill until 6:45
• From 6:45 to 7:30 Get ready for work and get Nathanael and Lauren ready for school.
• 7:30 to 8:00 Drop off Nathanael at school and go to work.
• From 8:00 to 3:00 teach with a 45 minute lunch period.(no prep)
• 3:15 leave for Nathanael's school to pick him up and set up for baseball practice at 4.(I'm the head coach:)
• Baseball practice from 4-5:00 p.m.
• Drive to Muncy School and eat dinner in parking lot.
• Drop-in tutoring at Muncy from 5:30-7:30 where I'm one of the math tutors.
• Get home 8:00 p.m. and say goodnight to kids.
• Spend next hour getting lunch, house, and running bag ready for the next day.

And this is not that much different than any other day during the week. I know I am not the only ultra runner out there that has a busy life. But what drives us to continue to put ourselves through this daily exhaustion?

The simple answer for me is........I want to see how far I can push myself. I want to know the limits of my true ability. The idea of what could be.....drives me to get out of bed, no less than five days a week, at 4 a.m. I'm not super human by any stretch. I am motivated. And motivation is one key element that gets overlooked with all successful people. So, I have my clothes laid out for tomorrow morning, the coffee is ready to go in the pot, the alarm is set, and I will be up at 4 a.m. BECAUSE I don't want to say, "WHAT IF........."