A Little Motivation

It is a Friday afternoon around 3. There isn't a lot of people at the gym. Today I decided to observe a guy that I usually see at the gym a few days out of the week. He comes to the gym often and he is a guy that would be considered to be in shape. He is the kind of guy that keeps to himself and gets what he needs to get done at the gym. But seeing him work so hard every time I see him makes me wonder, what is his motivation to work so hard at the gym. Maybe he doesn't have one, or maybe he does. But for some reason he is one of the regulars I see at the gym when I go. Not to mention that usually by Wednesday the gym is pretty dead, so most people there on Friday are pretty committed to getting a goal to be accomplished.
So I decided that I would try talking to this guy to see what keeps him to motivated. I was waiting and waiting for my chance to talk to him and finally it came up. He was about to head to the treadmills to run, so that's exactly what I did. Seeing that the gym wasn't full, I got on the machine that was right next to his. So I start my cardio work out, meanwhile thinking of a way to start conversation with this guy. He is running at full speed for awhile and finally takes a break and walks for awhile so I decided to just compliment him on his hard work. I said "Wow! You run fast. I wish I had the kind of cardio!" And he just laughed and said "Well I've made a lot of progress, it doesn't just happen over night." And so I just decided why not and took the jump. I was very direct and just simply told him how I always see him at the gym and I was just wondering what keeps him so motivated. His answer? Priceless. He said "Well I come to the gym just for myself. Most people come to the gym with temporary goals that they want to fulfill with their bodies. Me? I just want to feel good in my own skin and this is the way I'm doing just that. I work hard for what I have and the progress I've made." He then went on talking to me about why I was there and I told him my reason, and like most people he gave me encouraging words and then continued to work hard thru his workout.
This man stood out to me every time I see him because he works hard and push himself. When you go to the gym you see a variety of people. People who go just go say they go, people who don't push themselves to their limits, and then few people who really work hard just like this man. So I finally learned this man's story all just because I pushed myself to be direct with him. His words were so motivating to me, I pushed myself harder than I usually do at the gym. Even just a little positivity like that can spread like a wildfire.