But Why Not?

My guest blogger Dave posted a video on his Facebook page the other day that I decided to watch. It was entitled "Never, Ever Give Up" & obviously that kind of caught my interest. Plus, Dave posts 99.9% running-related stuff, so I thought maybe it was a cool inspirational running story. I love that kind of stuff.

Here's the video. Please watch it before you continue reading this post. It's just under 5 minutes, so it's not going to consume your entire day:



As many videos like this do, it really got me thinking. I talk a lot about the laziness of my generation and that I don't understand what their fascination is with constant negativity, but this video really made me question things. I couldn't believe what Arthur did. I couldn't fathom his level of motivation and dedication. I will admit that when he ran at the end of that video I had to do everything I could possibly do to prevent crying like a freaking baby. I cannot imagine the pride he feels in himself.
But why? What drives someone like Arthur to be so incredibly determined while others go to the gym three times before they decide it's taking away too much of their TV time? They certainly don't have the motivation to get up at the crack of dawn to better themselves, but you better believe they'll be the first ones to complain about their body when the chance arises. How can you complain about something that you're not willing to work hard enough to change?
What's stopping you from getting up early? What's stopping you from changing your diet? What's stopping you from working out everyday? What's stopping you from being healthier? What's stopping you from finally losing weight? What's stopping you from having more energy? What's stopping you from being motivated? What's stopping you from signing up for a race?
Yourself. That is what's stopping you.
Change the way you think, and you'll be amazed at what it can do for you. One of my favorite lines is "you don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great". It doesn't matter if you were never athletically minded and you don't have any idea what you're doing. Do you think everyone was born an expert at using gym equipment? When we make friends and form relationships in this life, we expect others to prove themselves to us. We want them to show us that they're worth it and that they're not going to give up on us. So why don't we set those same standards for ourselves? We so easily allow our minds to make up excuses as to why we can't go running tonight or why we're not going to set our alarm for the gym in the morning. Why can't we exhibit the same dedication to ourselves as we expect others to exhibit towards us?
I hate excuses. With people like Arthur in the world, I just don't believe in them.
Just lighting a little bit of fire under your butt this Tuesday.
Keep Running, Kelli