THE BULLDOG THAT TAUGHT ME THE TRUTH ABOUT MOTIVATION

I was out on the seawall here in West Vancouver yesterday. It was one of those classic BC days. Gray. Drizzly. The kind of damp cold that seeps right into your bones and makes your joints feel like rusty hinges. (If you’re from the UK like me, you know exactly the kind of misery I’m talking about.)

Anyway, I’m watching this guy trying to get his dog moving.

The dog, a massive, stubborn bulldog, has planted its feet. It is done. It is not moving. It has engaged the parking brake.

The owner is there, clapping his hands.

"Come on, boy! Who's a good boy! Let's go!"

He’s trying to motivate the dog.

He’s using high energy. He’s using treats. He’s using praise, pleading, and bargaining.

And the dog?

The dog is looking at him like he’s an idiot.

Eventually, the guy gives up on the hype. He sighs, walks behind the dog, and gives it a gentle, firm nudge on the rear end. Just a little shove to break the static friction.

The dog takes a step. Then another. And suddenly, they are walking again.

The guy didn’t need motivation.

He needed momentum.

And frankly, so do you.

Especially if you are currently lying on your yoga mat, staring at the ceiling, wondering why your back feels like it’s been worked over by a sledgehammer.

Here is the dirty little secret the "fitness influencers" and the cardio bunnies won't tell you:

Motivation is a liar.

Motivation is that flakey friend who promises to help you move house, drinks all your beer, and then leaves before the heavy lifting starts.

When you are in pain, motivation is high. You will do anything to stop the hurting. You will stretch, you will ice, you will pay for expensive chiro adjustments.

But the second, the very second, the pain dulls to a manageable ache?

Motivation packs its bags and leaves.

And you stop doing your drills. You stop building your "Tower." You go back to the slump.

And two weeks later, you throw your back out reaching for a bag of coffee beans and you’re back to square one.

This is why I preach the "Daily Grind."

Not because I love suffering.

But because I love Momentum.

Momentum doesn’t care how you feel. Momentum doesn’t need a hype track or a motivational quote on Instagram. Momentum just needs a nudge.

It is the physics of a pain-free life.

When you work with me, I don’t try to motivate you. I don’t pump your tires.

I give you the gentle, firm nudge to get moving.

We build the pillars of your body, your hips, your thoracic spine, your core, brick by brick, day by day.

Some days you will hate it. Some days you will be tired. Some days you would rather doom-scroll than do a glute bridge.

Do it anyway.

That is the difference between chasing a feeling and building a foundation.

If you are tired of the cycle of pain-motivation-relief-relapse...

And if you are ready to trade the "hype" for actual, mechanical momentum...

Then it is time to ditch the free PDFs and get a real plan.

Step one is right here:

Get moving.

Cam Rickerby

P.S. One more thing about that bulldog.

Once it got moving, it was actually happy. It trotted along, tail wagging, sniffing the air.

Action precedes emotion.

You don’t wait to feel good to move. You move to feel good.

If you want to feel good, really good, not just "less bad" book a call