04/07/2026
Some mornings, I don't feel like practising what I preach.
This morning it was drizzling, I'd had a busy week, my achilles tendonitis is still a bit grumbly. The cat had stolen my warm spot on the bed, which meant that I couldn't go back to sleep (because you can't move the cat!) but snuggling down around the cat seemed like a good idea.
I knew parkrun would probably do me good.
Knowing and doing are two very different things.
So I made a deal with myself. I didn't have to run well, I didn't have to run all of it, I just had to turn up. I went and did a bit of a walk-run-walk-run-limp-walk. Not my best at all, and I had all the self-criticism that comes along when I don't do well, because the internal story of 'well you should just try harder' is well ingrained.
But I moved my body. I caught up with familiar faces. I got some fresh air. And I came home feeling noticeably better than when I left.
That's something I see every day in coaching and in medicine. We often wait until we feel motivated before we act. But if we wait for motivation to appear, we'll never get started. Motivation comes from doing. Often, motivation turns up only after we've taken the first step. We just need to move forward and do something.
Sometimes "better than nothing" is exactly enough.
