Intention: Motivation isn’t the answer

I’m back after four weeks.

I stepped away from The Stoiclete Journal because I wanted to think. My creativity wasn’t there — and one week turned into four.

I wanted to find out what the intention really was behind this newsletter.

It’s hard to feel creative or motivated when you don’t see the purpose. And that same feeling, I’ve had before; three years ago, with lifting.

I was doing it, but without intention.
Going through the motions.
Not unhappy, but not fulfilled either.
Some good sessions, but mostly flat.
It became a habit — one that started to drain me.

Eventually, I began to resent it.
That was the moment I knew something had to change.

Lifting had given me so much, but I had to redefine why I did it.

The first step back wasn’t a new program or new exercises.
It was bringing back intention.
To train with focus. To get a little better every session.
To detach from outcomes and return to the process.

Slowly, I began to enjoy it again.

Often, it’s not the structure that’s the problem.
It’s the intention behind it.

Unless you’re paid to train and let’s be honest, 99% of us aren’t
you’re training for self-development.

Take it seriously, yes.
But don’t take it to the extreme.

Give yourself room to play.
To be curious. To experiment.

For me, that meant running something I’d never done because “I was a lifter,” and those two in my mind were opposites.

But I reminded myself:
It’s about the intention.
The intention to play.
To grow.
To become a better human physically and mentally.

Until next week,
Paco
Editor, The Stoiclete Journal

Help us keep sharing real stories