“Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.”—Lou Holtz
Fighting a summer of PS4, I just dropped my son off at the high school for some summer wrestling conditioning. He wasn’t as resistant to going as I thought. It helps that I held out a carrot (more time on the PS4 without my resistance). It also helped that he joined me in a Bulgarian bag HIIRT workout yesterday, and he recognized that his conditioning is not as good as he though. He is a capable wrestler. He needs to put in some additional effort. As a parent, one has to capitalize on the moments of opportunity and motivation to help shape the child’s attitude.
We are all quite capable at many things. Too often, though, we let excuses get in the way of our being (extra)ordinary. We simply deny the motivation. Yes, I said “deny”. We often say we “lack motivation”, but the truth is that motivation is present, we simply choose to ignore it. It is like a gas fireplace—the pilot light is lit; it is just waiting for the gas to be turned up.
Above ability and motivation, one need the right attitude. There needs to be a hunger and a desire to step up and work hard(er). Motivation brings one to the “conditioning practice”, but attitude determines the level of effort. Do we do only what is required or do we seek to do a little more? I encourage my son to not practice with the kid he can beat; rather, practice with the one he wants to beat. It is not enough to do what we can do. We have to do what we can’t (yet) do. This means we have to seek to fail that we will eventually win.
A factor that is missing in the Lou Holtz quote above (though, from what I know of the legendary coach, it is probably implied) is gratitude. The doer must be grateful for the opportunity—the inevitable challenge. I like to refer to this as “grattitude” (gratitude + attitude). For my son, for example, I want him to see this 9 AM conditioning as an opportunity rather than something he “has” to do. I want him to be grateful for the invitation extended by his middle school coach. I want him to be grateful for the other kids that have shown up to challenge him. I want him, above all else, to be grateful that he can wrestle—the he has the ability and the opportunity.
I speak to myself as I preach motivation to my son (and to my daughter). When there are things I might struggle to do, I remind myself of the opportunities I have and choose to be motivated. I remind myself that I get to exercise, to work, to do household chores, etc. I remind myself to….
Be your best today; be better tomorrow.
Carpe momento!