Motivation follows action

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Today was out not-so-monthly meeting at work.  They're meant to be monthly, but for some reason we'll have two or so in a row and then none for months.  If you ask me, once a month is too frequent for this kind of thing -- but nobody is asking me.  The only upside of these meetings is the company activity we get afterwards.

A few months back we went bowling at one of London's more original locations -- All Star Lanes.  I suck at bowling, and get even worse if I drink alcohol while bowling, so I think I came in last place out of the whole company.  All 12 of us, or however-many there were.  And to make matters worse at the time, nobody understood my references to The Big Lebowski -- even though the place was filled with posters for Lebowskifest.  Just the same it was fun.

Today's meeting was the usual.  But the activity afterwards was what I had been looking forward to all week: indoor climbing.  It was chosen randomly by the boss, who didn't think anyone had any experience -- but I completed a beginner's course earlier this year, and one of my colleagues used to run a kid's summer camp.

The climbing itself was good, if a little short -- and because it was pitched at total beginners, I could have done with it being a little more challenging.  I also wanted to be refreshed on tying the ropes, since that's the part I can't remember and the most important part I need for if I am to take my test to climb without supervision.  The good news is that belaying someone who is climbing is an automatic thing, like riding a bike, so that after a minute to find yourself again, you can just do it, without needing to think.

Any way you look at it, an afternoon climbing is better than an afternoon in the office, on the phone, trying to make sales.  I'm sure a lot of people get a buzz out of sales and would never want to do something like rock climbing, but that's just not me.  Today I am tired and aching, but happy -- I was left with the tired/happy feeling I used to get in Utah after a few hours snowboarding in the afternoon.

A friend told me recently that motivation follows action -- you have to force yourself to do something at first, before you will feel motivated to keep doing it.  Needing more exercise and to get out more and meet people is what I need to do, but can lack the motivation at times -- now I need to act first, take the time out to go climbing and do the things to improve myself.

I still think the idea of using adventure sports to help improve lives and communities is something that has merit -- it would tick the boxes for me, of helping people and being active -- and I guess the beginning of everything is that I have to be doing these sports first of all.  John Williams suggests Wednesdays as a day to "Play", to give yourself a taste of what you would like to be doing instead of work -- this seems like as good an idea as any.