- People run for different reasons: for competition, physical and mental well-being, to socialize or simply to be happy.
- Motivation can be extrinsic, when external goals are achieved, or intrinsic, when running to feel good.
- Focusing solely on performance can cause frustration, but shifting the focus to other aspects helps to maintain a positive approach.
Everyoneruns for a different reason: to have fun, to feel good physically and mentally, to spend time with friends, or to simply be away from home.
Then there are those who are motivated by the spirit of competition towards themselves or towards others.
Those who are motivated by the competitive spirit run to achieve new goals and set new personal records, new personal bests.
What happens, however, when something goes wrong and the prospect of a new PB suddenly fades?
Even knowing that you will not be able to give your best, does it make sense to continue to invest time, resources, and energy in pursuing a goal that is unlikely to be achieved?
Why do you run?
This is a trivial question that nevertheless might put some people off. Why do you run? To socialize, to be happy, to feel comfortable with your body, to prove that you are capable of accomplishing something with your own unique strength.
The motivations for someone to start running and keep running are endless and multifaceted.
You may not necessarily recognize yourself in a single “category” of runner.
It may be that your reason for running is a mix of two or more reasons, each of which will have a different weight and importance.
Two types of motivation
If what drives you to run is the thought of succeeding in achieving a new personal goal, such as a new personal best, or clutching a finisher‘s medal in your hands, then it means that what animates you is an extrinsic motivation, which comes from outside.
If, on the other hand, you run to collect new experiences and memories, just and only for the pleasure of doing something that can transmit joy and serenity to you, then it means that you are moved by an intrinsic motivation, which resides within you.
Extrinsic motivation can be fueled by monitoring data during workouts: seeing your times improve causes satisfaction and, in some cases, a form of addiction.
But intrinsic motivation can also have the same effect, causing you to seek out new experiences and adventures again and again that give you that rush of adrenaline and excitement you can’t do without.
The danger of the pursuit of performance
Those who run with the goal of performing will be primarily motivated by competition, overshadowing the psychological benefits of running.
When you hit your goal, improving your personal best in a race, you feel invincible.
It is a feeling that is repeated with every PB you achieve, until you find yourself facing a setback.
There are several reasons why it happens: you may have reached your maximum potential, or you may be going through an unfavorable phase in your life, perhaps due to a physical weakening that may have led to injury. Running to try to improve your performance can be a great motivator, but it cannot be your one and only motivation.
In addition to the numbers
Fixating solely and exclusively on numbers can be frustrating if the data that the various apps and monitoring devices provide constantly and continuously, do not return a sign of progress.
Disappointment, anger, and a sense of dissatisfaction would ensue, and all of this would depend on running, which would automatically become the cause of your malaise and discontent.
If you seek improvement but cannot perform as you would like shift your focus to another aspect that can restore your positive attitude leading you to cross the finish line with a smile.
For example, you can shift the terms of the challenge to a mental level by approaching the race from a different perspective and come out mentally fortified.
Accepting change
Sometimes it may be worth questioning why we run.
For some there may be no question, for others being able to answer it may be more complex.
It may be that you start running for one reason and then continue because you are driven by a completely different but equally strong and valid reason.
What should never change is the sense of joy and lightness one feels when running. Running should not cause us anxiety and worry, but on the contrary it should help us move away from these states to a state of general well-being, with ourselves and with others. (Via Run by Outside)