What do ice hockey and hot tea have to do with motivation?
Discovering my favourite part of playing hockey
Years ago, when I joined an intramural ice hockey league, it was only because I could skate backwards. A friend’s team needed a defenceman. I had no stick handling skills, and all of my skates up until then, had toe picks.
But I loved to skate backwards. So that’s mostly what I did. I just kept myself between an opponent and our net.
The few times that I scored a goal were magical, but it didn’t happen often enough to be my favourite part of playing. What was my favourite part? This might sound weird – it was hopping over the boards.
I would be on the bench watching for a team mate to end her shift. As she gave a signal and came over, I wouldn’t bother with the door, I would just hop over the boards, land on the ice, and skate.
It always came with a rush of energy and a complete sense of “I’m in this!”
Realizing the deeper meaning and motivation
We tried to keep our line shifts to around 90 seconds. On the ice, we focused on speed and finding opportunities. Off the ice, we let our legs recover from the sprints. And we let our brains recover from the continuous split second decisions.
To me that hop over the boards was my transition to being hyper focused and fully engaged.
But how about motivation at work?
These memories made me wonder what the equivalent is in my life now. Again, this may sound weird – but I think it’s putting a cup of tea on the mug warmer at my desk.
When I place it down, I get a similar feeling – a deeper sense of presence and a mental focus to work hard on something.
The effect thankfully lasts longer than 90 seconds, but I admit that sometimes it doesn’t last as long as the cup of the tea does. But now that I’ve noticed this transition moment, it may become even more effective and I may notice other times when I’m figuratively “hopping over the boards”.
Look for your own energy boosts
Here’s an exercise to help you strengthen your motivation muscle:
- Today, start a list of actions you do that intentionally or coincidentally get you fired up. Perhaps it’s dancing to a particular song, or doing some push-ups, or walking your dog.
- Then every day this week, log another observation of what might be an energy boost, including something you haven’t tried yet.
- At the end of the week, review your list for what you might do more often, and notice any change in your motivation.
