Guest Post | That thing called motivation

Today, I invited my friend Tanja to take over my blog and help me keep this space alive while I am in Germany visiting family and friends.

Hi, my name is Tanja and I have been living in the US for almost 12 years.

I’m, like San, a German (dual) citizen and met San through the blogosphere where I realized quickly that we have a lot in common. The first time San and I met in real life was 2016. Right away it felt like we had known each other for years. In 2017 San joined me and my mom for a (vacation)day in San Francisco and ever since mom is telling me to say “Hi” to San, whenever we talk.

Just a few weeks ago San flew out to Orange County to spend a whole weekend with me (my husband and doggies) – we had sooo much fun and now I dislike it even more that we don’t live closer to each other.

One thing we have in common is being active. As we all know, San loves to run. Myself, on the other hand, can’t seem to find any joy in running – I tried really hard tho. However, I like to move this body, I like hiking (who doesn’t like the outdoors?) and my indoor spinning class. Lucky me, I also have a little garage-gym where I can work on gaining a bit more strength. And count me in whenever there is a new gym or workout class wich offers a free trial!

I often get asked how I motivate myself to work out as often as I do.

It wasn’t always that way, it actually started just a few years ago, when I realized I have an eating disorder – it’s self-diagnosed and nothing as serious as bulimia. I started my first diet when I was about 11 years old and ever since can call myself the perfect example of yo-yo-dieting (#sarcasmout). Unfortunately, I can’t just have one piece of anything – if you place something/anything in front of me (even if I don’t like it that much) often my, what I call, dog-behavior comes out – I eat it with no hesitation in no time (you can call yourself lucky if you are fast enough to get a piece yourself – lol). So if I give myself the permission to eat a piece of something I might become my own enabler.

Whenever I was “successful” with my diet, it made me not only feel “in control”, also my back started to feel better (I was born with minor back and join issues). Again, it took me years to put one and one together.

However, at one point I realized that I have only one shot at this thing called life and I want to be able to look back at it and say, I did whatever I could to live a fun, adventurous, healthy life. Not sure when it happened or what triggered it.

But ever since, I wanted to do as much as possible to feel good in my own body. While I have good phases regarding my little eating problem, I still have moments where I screw up, big time. However, working out regularly (might) balance this out a bit, at least in my head.

Of course there are days where I don’t feel it at all. I wake up with a headache or feel the back pain more intensely at the end of the day, right before my scheduled spin class. And while it is very important to listen to your body, I personally have come to the realization that I’d rather try my planned workout and stop when it might become too much, instead of not giving it a shot at all. I have too often taken things / aches / pains as an excuse and I don’t want to slip into this behavior again. So, if I’m not crying out in pain (this is of course over exaggerated!!!) I’d rather bite the bullet and give it a try. No shame in stopping midway if it doesn’t get better or feels uncomfortable or even painful. Most of the time a little adjustment and/or alternative movement can also help me get through a workout.

While I always love to give 110 percent, I know my body well enough to understand that sometimes I just can’t give that much. But hey, anything is better than doing nothing…. don’t you agree?!?

Please don’t forget, this is just my own way of getting over my weaker self.

My favorite quote became my mantra: Live the life you love, love the life you live. I got it tattooed on my wrist so I can remind myself whenever it’s necessary.

So the short answer to the question where I find my motivation to workout 5-7 times a week is: I simply want to feel good, until the end of my time!