I hate to imagine what my life would be like if I only did what "I feel like doing." Worst case? Living in retirement or on welfare as a TV addict or internet or heroin addict - but then I would hate myself for laziness and passivity. I am already a book addict. It's sort of moot for me, because I have never known the meaning of "relax and take it easy." Probably never will. I was made for work.
What does "motivation" mean? I don't know. I do know what desire means, and what fear means. Desire for results, and fear of decay, affect me but so does the simple physical need to be active. My genius trainer always says "The hardest exercise of all is dragging your lazy ass to the gym every morning."
The answer to my title question is "No - never." That's because it is so hard and stressful compared with, say, yard and garden work, or going for a scenic hike. I just want to get it done with and then to begin my day in a good state of mind. Once I get in the gym, though, there is some perverse satisfaction in pushing myself and testing my will, and good satisfaction after completing a hard hour. Being driven by a slave-master helps a lot too. Endorphins are over-rated, but an atmosphere where everybody is busting their ass is inspirational.
As all of our readers know well, discipline, determination, and delayed gratification are darn important in making a decent life. It does feel good to me to be in better shape than I was in 20 years ago, but it's taken 3 years to get here with much further to go.
Trying to turn back that clock, baby - it's only semi-delusional.
Photo: Those people are doing Turkish Get-ups. It's a tricky calisthenic.
