“Ugh. I don’t want to go into the rink today,” Skatergirl says. “I’m sore. I’m tired. I’ll die if Skatercoach makes me do another double run-through today.”

Yesterday, Skatergirl’s friends invited her to a party, but Skatergirl turned them down because she had summer training in the morning.

“I wish I had gone,” Skatergirl mumbles, scrolling through her social media feed. All her friends are posting pictures from the party. They look like they had a great time. “Is all of this training even worth it?”

Motivation

It’s easy to stay motivated when your training is going well. It’s much harder to stay motivated, when training is difficult.

That’s a fact of life. It’s common sense. But, why is it that way?

Think about it this way. A stranger approaches you on the street and strikes up a conversation.

“Hey,” they say. “I’ve got a great job offer for you.”

“Okay,” you say. “What are the hours?”

“Five hours per day, six days a week,” they reply. “Start time is 4:30 in the morning. It’s super convenient! You can fit it in on top of all your other activities.”

“Um. Okay,” you say. “How much do I get paid?”

“Paid?” the stranger asks. “Haha. Good one. You don’t get paid. You have to pay me. Also, you’ll have to do it for the next five to seven years. It’s the offer of a lifetime!”

What do you think, would you take their offer?

Probably not. But, why is that? After all, isn’t this job offer very similar to the training you do every single day?

Why?

Training. Dryland. Stretching. Nutrition. Mental skills training. Rest and Recovery. Everyday you push yourself to the limit.

But, is all of this struggle and sacrifice worth it? I mean, there’s no guarantee that you’ll ever reach your dreams.

So, why do you do it? Why do you go through all the pain and sacrifice? This is called your “Big Enough Why“.

Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?

Having a Big Enough Why is important. Without one, training becomes exactly like that stranger’s job offer.

Your love of the sport. Chasing a personal best. Working to prove something to yourself. These are all valid “whys”.

All that matters is that you have a reason you truly believe in. A reason to push yourself to the limit every single day.

So, take a moment and think about your Big Enough Why. Write it down, so you can look back on it later. If you don’t know where to start, take a look at this article.

Once you’ve done that come back to this article, so I can teach you how to use it to motivate yourself.

How to Use Your Big Enough Why

In the middle of summer training. When you’d rather be doing anything other than running programs. Ask yourself this question. “How is what I’m doing right now going to help me get to my Big Enough Why?”

Will it make me stronger? Will it make me more consistent? Will it help me to increase my stamina? Will it help me to refine my technique?

Use your answer to motivate yourself.

Mental skills training can make a difference because it can help you access what is already there during competition and practice.

Start here: download “Confidence Myth Busters,” a complimentary eBook and make a change.