inspiration V motivation

I've been rolling ths idea around in my head for some time and i thought I'd throw it out there as a post and see what comes of it.

As a trainer I was taught that i must be a great source of motivation to my clients.
and on the surface, fair enough, but when I looked deeper at the concept it didnt quite sit right for me, because being seen as the source of motivation takes away from the responsibility of the individual to be wholy engaged in their own journey.
From my point of view I am not the one that gets you off the lounge to do your workout, you are. As the trainer it is my job to:

• keep you focussed on your goal
• give you the right tools with which to achieve your goal
• educate you on how to use those tools

And i find that placing the responsibility of motivation onto me, my clients are removing it from themselves, and well being completely honest gives them someone to blame if they dont achieve their goal.

In recent years I have realised that as a trainer it is far better to be a source of inspiration, instead of motivation.
I prefer to remind people of their goals, to look at the hard tasks from a different angle, to steer them towards things that make them feel better, so that when the task of self motivation is upon them it is not so hard.
in my mind it works like this

• inspiration leads to motivation
• motivation leads to dedicated action
• dedicated action leads to results

So next time youre lacking motivation, get inspired.

• go on youtube and look up a rocky training montage
• type in sports motivation on your web browser
• look at a picture of your goal
• remind yourself of where you are going and how far you have come.

look for inspiration in things that make you happy, things that make your heart sing, from there motivation is easy.