I won the pschological battle with something I do but do not like, and so can you.
While it may be true that you overcame on something you don't like, it's not realistic for others.
You said you asked your wife for a bike for Christmas. This was your motivation. You said to yourself, "Hey, I'm going to try this." Great, most people start off like that. They say to themselves, "Man, I really want to try that out."
Then you got your bike, you tried it out a few times, and shortly thereafter, you grew to love it. You probably stuck with it for two reasons: (1) your wife bought it for you, and (2) you are determined to try something you don't find pleasant. That is great and all, but most people don't think like that especially when it comes to fitness and doing stuff.
I can tell right away if someone is going to last more than a week at my gym. Here's how I know right away they're not going to make it to the second week: they do something they don't like, and it becomes painful for them. They're expecting it to work right away, and they're
motivated and
determined to get into shape by doing the hated exercise. At the end of the week, they realize they're sore and hurt and probably feel great. Comes Monday, they realize they can't go to the gym, they lost their
motivation and
determination to continue doing what they're doing. Not because they're weak, it's because they came for torture, and who wants to go back to being tortured? I certainly wouldn't.
So basically, with your example, you were
motivated and
determined to like your bike. You found shortly after sticking with it, that you grew to
love it. Now, you don't need to motivate or make yourself determined because now you have
obedience. You use the bike now because you
like it.
I find your example to be very different from others. Take me for example, I always wanted to run, as a matter of fact, that is why I went to the gym in the first place. I didn't care about weight loss or anything like that at first. I knew it was going to be painful, and it was. I was
motivated and
determined to run. I stuck with it, and now I don't need to
motivate or make myself
determined to run. I'm
obedience now and I don't even think about it when I want to run. It took me nearly 2-3 months before I can even run a mile under 13 minutes. Now I can hit a mile in 8 minutes, and it's continue to go down.
I always recommend people do things they like. When you’re motivated and determined to do something, you will become obedience in the end when you stick with it. Always remember though, that motivation and determination run dry after a while. You get tired of what you’re doing because every time you do it, you have to become motivated and determined to do it. This only lasts a short while, and it is not an ideal way of doing fitness.
Right now, I'm motivated and determined to bench press despite the fact it is quite painful for me, and I haven't been paying much attention to my bench press. I know that with motivation and determination, I can continue doing it. I also know, however, that if I continue to run on motivation and determination, one day I will become tire of it and will stop. I know that in order for me to continue doing it, I need to become obedience.