Question: Does the motivation of an amateur athlete differ from that of a professional athlete—or from young athletes who want to go pro?

It seems like the obvious answer is yes. After all, for pros it’s a job, complete with all the motivational issues we see in any other line of work. (And I have plenty to say about motivation at work, but that’s a separate topic.) But amateurs are a different story. Still, for some reason, amateurs often end up with the same training regimens and psychological hang-ups as the pros. Even amateurs who perform at a pro level, in my opinion, are in it for different reasons than true pro athletes.

Again, I’m not speaking for everyone, just calling it like I see it from my own little corner of the world.

The most logical thing that should motivate an amateur, in theory, is improving health and adding some zest or novelty to life—something on the level of a hobby. A way to fill the time left after we’ve put food on the table for ourselves and our families.

As for that first point—health—it’s probably the weakest motivator for most people, strange as that might sound. We usually don’t think much about our health until it starts to go south, and only then do we decide to act (assuming it’s not already too late). Once you catch it in time, it can become part of your life to keep an eye on things. We’re all like that; I’m no exception. I didn’t totally botch my health—maybe because I had a decent “durability reserve” from youth—but I still got pretty close to disaster with extra weight and all its lovely side effects. Luckily, I snapped out of it in time. Then again, watching your health isn’t about doing marathons or Ironmans. It’s more about basic nutrition and overall physical maintenance. In my opinion, it doesn’t take much effort to train yourself to start your day not with a cup of coffee and a cigarette but with a short morning workout—push-ups, pull-ups, some core and leg exercises. Thirty or forty minutes in the morning, and if you push yourself a bit, it becomes part of your normal routine.

Eating, I’ll admit, is more complicated. Knowing when to just shut your mouth (literally) is a handy skill in more ways than one. It’s hard to eat less for all sorts of reasons, including physiological ones. But we’re supposedly the pinnacle of nature, mainly because of our brains—so that’s where you have to use some willpower. No matter what new diet fad pops up, it’s all about running a calorie deficit. Sure, exercise helps create that deficit, but don’t forget that when you train more, you’ll also want to eat more—and that’s totally normal.

And of course, what we eat matters if we want to maintain that calorie deficit more easily. So as far as “health motivation” goes, I’d say that’s basically no motivation at all.

So why else do sports?

If you’re less of an introvert than I am, sports are a great way to expand or create a social circle. The running or triathlon crowd is just another type of “scene.” If people annoy you, though, your training session can be sacred alone time—a chance to listen to a podcast, an audiobook, or just your own thoughts. And if you do have training buddies you actually like, then hanging out with them can be motivation in itself.

I think for some people, posting race photos on social media is a big deal. For others, it’s enough that they managed to finish a marathon. Or maybe they want to break a certain time—sub whatever-hours-and-minutes. It can go deeper than that, too: we might be working through our own issues or trying to compensate for something. But that’s normal. Better to work it out this way than through something truly destructive. How long does that kind of motivation last? Depends on the person, but in my book, it’s weak.

Sports tourism is another possible motivator: the rush of racing in different countries, in a huge international crowd united by a single goal, can be super inspiring. Plus, hanging around before and after the race in a new place is always tempting.

We could probably come up with ten more reasons to do sports, but here’s what interests me more: we humans tend to go all-in on everything. We can’t just enjoy something; the same way we can’t simply work for the sake of working. We have to have goals, ambitions, maximum efficiency—and from that come all our problems, like burnout. Then we scramble to solve those problems.

Here’s the key question for me: why? Why does a 40-year-old who decides to get into sports—maybe because they let themselves go a bit, or because they’re looking for a new pursuit—have to immediately set a goal like a sub-3-hour marathon? And if they don’t, it’s somehow “eww, what’s the point?” Next thing you know, it’s another hamster wheel: first at work, then with family, and now in sports, dragging the same patterns into every corner of life.

But can’t we just enjoy what we do? And if so, why do we need extra motivation? Why not go out and train because it feels good, instead of doing it because the coach said so, or for social media likes, or to avoid people’s disapproval? Sometimes you’ll feel lazy, sure—but you’ll be less lazy overall if the sport is something you genuinely enjoy, something you look forward to. If a healthy diet is something you actually like, then you won’t be miserable watching everyone else scarf down fast food while you pick at your salad. You’re just doing what you like, and eventually it becomes a habit. You don’t have to run a marathon; you can run 5K or 10K if that’s more your speed and still fun. You don’t have to run at all—there are tons of sports out there. Just find what brings you joy.