The joy of discovery - the ultimate motivator

I originally started bodybuilding because I wanted to see if I could make something that doesn't appeal into something fun. When it comes to sport, I'm a real generalist. I will try everything and anything, but bodybuilding I left off the bucket list because it never really resonated with me. The idea of doing a very subjective, aesthetic sport seemed quite frankly really weird, so it was both a psychological and physiological experiment. When you do something you enjoy, it becomes autotelic. You do..for the sake of doing, rather than a means to an end and that is one of the keys to intrinsic motivation and consistency - two important building blocks of successful training. To turn something you hate into something  you love is therefore a crucial skill and in the end I have come to love bodybuilding with a passion. 

The question is therefore - How do you make something fun? 

Of course, the answer is very individual but the trick is to start with what you "can" do rather than what you can't (I'll use bodybuilding as the example). This entails compiling a list of all the training that is acceptable for 1) your chosen category and 2) your body type/metabolism. As a "Figure" competitor (less muscular and lean than a bodybuilder), my freedom of choice for exercise was remarkably high. It is then a question of choosing methods that you enjoy and that is exactly what I did. Variation was key for me because I get bored; I also like to design training - in fact no two training sessions were ever the same.

I believe it's important to do what you like, because it creates motivation. Passion and a fire in one's belly have a funny way of turning an unrealistic expectation into something achievable. There will be times for just knuckling down but they should make up a smaller proportion of training time. In those instances, you just have to crack on!

The "how" therefore is really much more important than the "what". For the same activity or goal there are endless possibilities for how you can go about it. You can make it miserable or fun or anything in between. 
I get huge enjoyment out of discovery and I don't think I'm unique in that. Finding solutions to training problems, whether thats tweaking a training system or changing a mind set is a huge motivator for me. Sets, reps, rest, exercise choice, hand position, foot position, diet..it is all to be played with. It is also the reason why I prep myself, it is a much slower journey but ultimately it is one that is much more rewarding for me. Everybody has different reasons for doing things but perhaps it is useful to stop and ask every now and again..what drives you? It needn't change the outcome it's just maybe it will make the ride a little more joyful. This is something I have only recently learnt but I will never look back now I know there is a different way of doing things. I just wished I had learnt it 20 years ago!

Thailand to me represents the land of possibility. If you had asked me if you could fit a family of 7 on a 50cc scooter I would probably have said no...but now I know you can. 
This is just one example of creative solutions I have seen within 3 days of bring here, so there seems no better place to be for training inspiration. 

Slight poetic licence from "google images" as this family looks like they maybe from Uzbekistan, but you get the idea and it's better than the 7 people I saw!