Dedication and motivation

Is there such a thing as dedication and motivation when it comes to training for a sport? eating right? exercising? or in general in life? I have been thinking about it as of late and have not had a definitive answer that could apply to masses in general. But one thing that is certain is that if there is something you are passionate about you don’t need any dedication or motivation to do it or to do it well. It becomes you and you become it. Sure, there are days when you wouldn’t want to get out of bed, but in general doing something you are passionate about does not feel like a task wherein you need to motivate yourself to achieve something.

But what about things that you just have to do like eating right and exercising to stay healthy? Or work at a job because you have to make money? Do they fall in the same category. Upon deeper inspection they actually do. If you just “like” to stay healthy you are never going to be healthy. There will be bouts of healthy phases in your life but in general you would not be doing what you think you want. Unless you want something bad enough, you would not do it consistently to achieve the results you think you want. What about the job? You don’t feel excited about it on most day? You are not doing the right job.

I hear from people how they wish they could exercise more and go to gym. But somehow something always comes up. And how they wish they had more dedication. But here is the thing, they don’t want it bad enough. They just think that they should do it because everyone make them feel that going to gym is good and not going is bad. Magazines talk about motivational techniques, gyms do new year resolutions promotions and research after research is dedicated to telling people how they would be better off going to the gym. They might be. But they would be better off if they found an activity they enjoyed instead. Like skiing? Spend the winters skiing. Like hiking? Let hiking be your sport and your exercise. Take a dance class or go to a retreat. What if you don’t like to play sport or do any physical exercise? Well the fact is that you can push yourself to do something for a short time but you will never be able to achieve the results of an active lifestyle by doing that. Find your passion instead and don’t feel bad about not going to the gym or eating that candy bar. You ate that candy bar because it mattered more to you than anything else. What if you get to live a year or two less? At least you did what you liked and was happy about it. Constantly feeling bad about not being able to do something that you don’t want badly to start with is a big stressor. Be free and be awesome instead!

Thoughts?