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A
I don’t understand how you can find enjoyment in something that seems so difficult.
B
What do you mean?
A
By all measures, what you do takes a lot of discipline, and effort. At any point, you could injure yourself. Not to mention, this is physically draining, and you will likely never make a living from running, or even be the fastest runner. Why not dedicate yourself to things that are conventionally more enjoyable?
B
What you say is true, it requires a lot of effort, I could injure myself, and I will likely never rank.
A
So why do you do it? Surely there is some aspect that gives you satisfaction.
B
There is certainly satisfaction and enjoyment that comes from having met some benchmark, yet I can derive satisfaction from the act itself
A
How so? I’m not convinced there’s a way to frame this as enjoyable.
B
I can frame running as a medium I can freely explore. While there are things I could quantify like setting personal records, I can find delight in the immeasurable parts.
A
...
B
At some point, performing better will become much harder the better I get, so I have to find other things to get joy in because I will eventually not be able to beat my prior records due to my own physical limits.
A
Hmm. I notice a lot of the parts of running that bring you joy come from yourself.
B
Exactly! I think that extrinsic motivation is superficial, and my commitment to this is a testament to the deep personal satisfaction I get from running.
A
Are you saying that there isn’t satisfaction from extrinsic factors?
B
I’m not making that claim, but what makes this act play as opposed to work is what gives me the most joy from running are the intrinsic factors.
A
Interesting...