If getting back to physical activity after months of inactivity isn't always enjoyable, discovering that it gives us a way to push ourselves is a powerful source of motivation.
"For me, the essential thing in sport is the surpassing of oneself that it continually demands of us." This line from Keating speaking to his students in "Dead Poets Society" has become famous because it rings so true. You force yourself to go further. Until the obligation becomes satisfaction.
Pushing your limits is often the credo of great champions, but it can apply to everyone. That doesn't mean going too far, it means going further. It's a big difference. It's not about setting off to run a 10K when you haven't laced up your running shoes in years, but about proceeding gradually so you can run it one day. Hence the importance of intention and each person's goal. Self-transcendence comes from that: from the goal you set and the chances you give yourself to reach it.
For that, you can rely on your own motivation, whatever it is, whether to improve your health or simply to enjoy yourself. But you can also rely on others: "I remember times when competition was far away and I had to find the necessary motivation to train," recalls former pole vaulter and now sailor Jean Galfione. "It was linked to my coach but also to my training partners — I needed them to be fully committed with me. If one wasn't, I was furious. Because at any level, you have to be at 110% to be able to support each other during hard moments."
Physical, but also mental
The limit of self-transcendence, as Jean Galfione reminds us, "is knowing what your body can take." The key, then, is to be well advised. And supported. Even more so if you haven't moved for years or if you have health issues that exercise can help relieve or treat. That's why it's worth calling on a physical trainer, a coach, a sports doctor... who will know how to design a varied program in line with your potential.
But self-transcendence isn't only about physical performance. It is also and above all mental. "Out at sea, life is less comfortable than in the cocoon of a top-level athlete," Jean Galfione confides. "Back then I was afraid of getting used to comfort. Because then you stop seeking to surpass yourself. Today I sleep on the floor in the hold, sometimes in water. But like any tough job, you grow attached to it because you're proud to have gone through it. You learn a lot about yourself."
"Sport is self-transcendence. Sport is a school of life," said former coach Aimé Jacquet. It's in any case a great way to feel better in your own shoes and therefore in your daily life, at home as well as at work. Pushing yourself increases your motivation, consistency and tenacity, but also your self-confidence. Nice program, isn't it?