Have you ever been focused on a goal? A specific,
measurable, time sensitive goal? One that is aligned with your plans to
accomplish something big in life? If you are a runner, my guess is, yes, you
have. If you are not a runner, my guess is, yes, you still have. As members of
a “can do” American culture, like it or not, I believe, we are nurtured to think we are more worthy if we win, succeed, achieve,
perform, or accomplish. From this neurosis, we grow extra hormone reserves,
or little bio-rivers of serotonin. These rivers keep the process alive.
Stay with me people, this is you, too!
I started this post with the concept of chromosomes and DNA,
thinking that we are somehow born with this neurosis. This need to succeed, for others. Then I quickly corrected myself.
Running ultra’s, like anything difficult in life, is all
about motivation. You either have it, or you don’t. You either feel it, or you
don’t. You either cross the finish line, or you don’t. And it all comes back to
this one simple thing. Motivation.
Which leads me to the next question. Where does it come from?
This thing called motivation? Is it really from the bio-rivers of serotonin in
our own head? Or is it from somewhere else? Is it in our DNA?
I don’t have the answer. But I do have an insight that lends
itself to what might be a way of thinking. It is from Lao Tzu himself, uttered
centuries ago. It is simply this:
