“What’s My Motivation?” – Part One

You’re not supposed to give away the endings of good books or movies.
What about to an Adult ADHD Workshop?
We’re going this event in Toronto on February 27th (Cheap plug!)
I’ve read that the way to lay out a good presentation is to explain what you’re going to talk about, then talk about it, then explain what you talked about.
So I’m going to give away the ending of the workshop.
The key message we’re going to build to at this event is, “You can learn all the tools and techniques in the world. But if you don’t use them, if you aren’t sufficiently motivated, if you don’t have enough reasons to stick with it, then you’re toast.”
We may not actually use the word “toast.” Dr. Jain will probably use a more intelligent word.
But we’re talking about motivation. The context.
Actors always want to know what their characters motivation is. Once they understand the motivation, everything falls into place.
Motivation. It’s everything.
When it’s not there…
For example: You could teach me how to knit. I might even be good at it. I knit my brow all the time!
But I have to admit I probably take up knitting full time, or even part time. I won’t knit myself a thong, let alone a winter coat or swimming pool cover. First of all, because I don’t have a swimming pool. And I do have a Winter Coat. And thongs are out of style according to an article I saw online. (Good to know!)
The only time I’ve ever actually done something astonishing and difficult was when I had enough motivation. Before that I used to wait for motivation. I’d wait to be inspired. I’d wait for the world to line up enough pushes and shoves, as well as payoffs and rewards, to get me going.
In 2005 I discovered you could actually seek out and find motivations. Hell, you could even invent them. Create them out of thin air. And they work! (Which probably shouldn’t be surprising. Movies and plays are invented out of thin air, but they make us laugh and cry and say, “Wow, I like 3-D”)
That year I was in a course called, Team Management & Leadership. As part of developing your skills you create a project that excites you, but is bigger than you could possibly handle alone. Voila, you HAVE TO create a team and manage it.
Like being tossed into the fire.
Quite exciting. There were 800 people in the course, from all over North America. The stuff they were up to was incredible. Rarely about making money or just something purely commercial. Mostly just doing something to transform the world. One guy taught Iraq War Veterans who had lost limbs how to surf. It turned into a huge event.
So I must create a project that is beyond me, that would require others to help me. So, in a moment of inspiration not heard since Genereal Custer said, “I think we can trap them Injuns over the next hill!” I decided I would join my wife on an upcoming charity bike rally. From Toronto to Montreal!!! That’s 600 kilometres. 360 odd miles.
In six days. 100 kilometres a day. More on some days actually.
In hindsight it wasn’t quite the right project for the course, cause I could have done it alone, but as it turned out I needed help with training and raising money and small details like having a bike to ride on. It’s a bike rally.
I didn’t own a bike.
I did have a unicycle. But it had one tire, and that tire was flat.
Plus I needed major help in training. My wife and the other riders had been training for six weeks.
The first week I had to train on my wife’s ‘old’ bike. (She’d bought a new one for the rally.)
The first day was a good long ride. I was totally spent. I ‘hit the wall’ as they say.
And that was with a stop for a coffee and doughnuts at Tim Hortons about 2/3 of the way along (I was panting so hard I spent 20 minutes sipping the coffee and trying to recover so I could get back home.)
After I showered and changed I actually got in my car and retraced the route to see how far I’d covered. I figured it was between 20 or 30 kms?
No.
8.7 kms.
Almost 9 whole kilometers. Less than six miles.
Laugh all you want, I am sitting there in the car, staring at the odometer…thinking “I have to ride that distance almost a dozen times in one day? I mean doing it twice would have killed me today!
Then we sleep out in a tent! And have to get up the next morning and do it again?
And the next day? Rain or shine! In the hottest week of the summer?
In less than three months from now?”
I suddenly felt much older, flabbier and more out of shape that I actually was. (Which is no mean feat. It required considerable imagination and self pity but I was up for it.)
Clearly I need motivation.
I need MAJOR motivation.
At first, very little was forthcoming. The odometer was no help at all.
Then things started to shift. I’ll explain in part two. In the meantime, picture me in bicycle shorts.