Beyond Motivation: How Committed Action Drives Endurance Athletes’ Success

Have you ever woken up on a training day feeling completely unmotivated, hitting snooze repeatedly while that little voice inside says, “Maybe I’ll feel more like training tomorrow”? As endurance athletes, we’ve all been there (including me, a sport psychologist!). That said, what separates consistent performers from occasional athletes isn’t an impressive amount of motivation—it’s the willingness to bring a lack of motivation along for the ride via a strategy called committed action.

What is Committed Action?

Committed action, a core concept from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), is a strategy that can improve our relationship with motivation and training consistency as endurance athletes. At its core, it’s about taking actions that align with our values (e.g., our “why,” and what’s most important to us in life both in and out of sport), regardless of our current emotional state or mood. That last part of the sentence is what makes this hard to put into practice!

If you’ve trained for a while as an athlete, you won’t be surprised when I say that motivation is a fickle friend. Waiting for the perfect motivational state to train is like trying to plan your workouts around perfect weather—it’s unreliable and ultimately limiting–so why do many of us base our training habits off of our feelings? There’s no need!

When it comes to training, we have two choices:

• Path 1: The Mood-Dependent Approach. Train only when feeling motivated and energized. Though this is tempting, this path leads to inconsistent training and missed opportunities for growth.
• Path 2: The Committed Action Approach. Take action based on our personal values and goals, regardless of mood. This path leads to consistent progress and greater athletic achievement. 

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What Committed Action Looks Like in Practice

Imagine you’re a runner scheduled for a long training run. You’re tired, unmotivated, and it’s 45 degrees and rainy outside. The mood-dependent approach would likely end up with you calling it, saying today isn’t your day, and then going down some sort of mental spiral about how you need to make up the training later in the week. The committed action approach, however, doesn’t require you to feel good about the run—it simply asks you to lace up your shoes and start moving.

Here’s what often happens: As you begin running, something shifts. The rhythm of your footsteps, the fresh air, and the simple act of moving forward can improve your mood. Though you might not feel ecstatic to be going long in the cold and wet weather, you’ll likely finish with a sense of accomplishment and alignment with your athletic values. It’ll also help you for future races with questionable weather because you can look back on the training run knowing you got through it then, and can do it again in the future if needed.

Practical Tips for Implementing Committed Action

• Focus on your athletic values rather than your current mood
• Treat low motivation days as expected passengers on your journey
• Celebrate following through on commitments, not just performance outcomes
• Remember that action often comes BEFORE motivation, not the other way around

One VERY important note: Committed action is a great tool, but it’s crucial to balance it with body awareness. This isn’t about pushing through injury or ignoring genuine needs for rest—it’s about maintaining consistency when motivation wanes but training is appropriate.

The Irony About Performance Improvement

Now, for the cool part: When we stop requiring ourselves to feel motivated before taking action, we often find that positive feelings naturally follow. This creates a sustainable cycle of action and achievement that doesn’t depend on fleeting emotional states. As a result, our performance also tends to improve because we start to understand that we can continue to show up regardless of how we’re feeling inside.

Ready to give it a shot? Start by identifying one small action you can take today, regardless of how you feel. Share your commitment with a coach or teammate, or save this post for those low-motivation days when you need a reminder of what drives real athletic progress.

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