Motivation Series | Part 2 – Speed + Focus
“If you’re bored with life—you don’t get up every morning with a burning desire to do things—you don’t have enough goals.”
—Lou Holtz
Ever feel like you’re doing the things—showing up, checking the boxes, making the effort—but something still feels… flat?
Not wrong. Not bad.
Just kind of blah?
That’s not a motivation issue.
That’s a missing intensity issue.
Let’s Translate the Quadrant
In our quadrant model, Flat is the symptom—you’re going through the motions, but you’re not engaged.
What you actually need is Intensity—a renewed spark of challenge, intention, and energy.
And we get there through:
- Speed – quick wins that give you a sense of progress
- Focus – concentrated effort on something that actually matters to you
Intensity isn’t about doing more—it’s about feeling alive again in the doing.
What It Looks Like to Feel Flat
- You’re consistent… but it feels like maintenance
- You’re training… but not really chasing anything
- You’ve plateaued mentally, emotionally, or physically
- You’re saying things like, “I don’t know, I’m just kind of coasting”
This is usually when people say they’ve “lost motivation.”
But here’s the truth:
You didn’t lose motivation. You lost engagement.
Why Intensity Matters (and What It Actually Is)
Intensity doesn’t mean redlining every day or burning yourself out.
It means your brain and body are engaged—you’re present, stimulated, and slightly stretched.
Without that, even the most “perfect” program can feel dull.
The human brain loves novelty, challenge, and small wins. It’s wired for growth.
That’s what intensity gives us:
Not just more effort, but more life inside the effort.
How to Reignite Your Spark
You don’t need a massive overhaul.
You just need to adjust the stimulus.
1. Shorten the Feedback Loop
Pick a goal or challenge where you’ll feel the result quickly—within days or weeks, not months.
Examples:
- Improve 1 gymnastic skill this month
- Do 3 unbroken strict push-ups every morning
- Eat protein with breakfast for 5 days in a row
Small wins. Fast feedback. Big returns.
2. Play With Pressure
Give yourself a fun constraint.
Set a time cap. Add a rep range. Join a challenge. Make it slightly harder in a way that feels exciting, not heavy.
Example:
“I’m going to track my water for 5 days, and every day I hit my goal, I get to skip my least favorite warm-up movement on Saturday.”
(Bribery? Maybe. Effective? Absolutely.)
3. Re-Focus Your Attention
Sometimes we lose intensity because our focus is too diluted.
Pick one thing.
One goal.
One area to pour into—for now. Not forever.
Quick Story
A member once told me, “I’m just not feeling fired up lately. I still come in. But it’s more out of habit than hunger.”
She was doing fine—but flat.
So we gave her something to chase:
A 30-day push-up and pull-up challenge. Nothing fancy. Just a personal goal she could track daily.
Two weeks in? She was telling me about her progress before I could ask. The fire was back.
All it took was a little speed and a touch of focus.
Coming Up Next…
In Part 3, we’ll look at what happens when you feel completely stuck—like no matter what you do, you’re not moving forward.
That’s where we talk Momentum, and how to build it through traction and speed.
Quick Self-Check Before You Go:
Are you really unmotivated?
Or are you just bored?
If the answer is boredom, you don’t need guilt or pressure.
You need engagement.
You need Intensity.
And we build that one small, exciting challenge at a time.