Mo-ti-va-tion - the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior;
Morale – a state of individual psychological well-being based upon a sense of confidence and usefulness and purpose

Two words that are so important to us all.  Two words that deserve a little attention.  Two words that can help make or break us.

Since the New Year started, I’ve found myself sitting at the bottom of an enormous wall.  As I stare up at it, I can see those two words perched right at the very top.  The problem is that I’m right down here sitting in the dirt with my hands pressed up against the solid red brickness fretting: what on earth possessed me to start training for a marathon..and not only that…why oh why did I tell everyone I was going to raise £5,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support?  Why do I feel creaky, unfit, fat, lethargic, negative and the biggest fool on earth?  How on earth am I going to make it round 26.2 miles of London roads to complete one of the most famous marathons in the world?  Let’s not forget, I’ve got a Kilomathon to do first (16.3miles/26.2km) on March 14th!

It’s lonely at the bottom of this wall.  Sometimes I sit with my back to it, trying to ignore the great, fat 26.2 that my mind has painted in graffiti art across those dusty bricks.  I’ve cried.  I’m scared.  I don’t want to be laughed at.  I don’t want to fail.  I thought I could do this but that was when it seemed a long way off and I had plenty of training time.  Now the clock has an audible ‘tick’ and the days are slipping by too quickly.

But what if I had cancer?  What would I do then?  Surely putting one foot in front of the other repeatedly is easier than telling my children that ‘Mummy’s poorly’.  What if I had to go through chemo, feel sick and tired to my bones, watch my hair fall out and wonder what surgery lies ahead? …. And what would I do if there was no-one to help, no-one to listen to me, no-one to care for me?

With your help, I can beat the dreaded ’26.2′.  Together we can help the 2 million people in the UK who have had a cancer diagnosis.   Please give generously and donate online at www.JustGiving.com/joanna-sayers