Simon Easterby insists the possibility that Saturday's World Cup quarter-final may be the last game for Joe Schmidt and Rory Best is not being used as motivation by Ireland.

The duo will step away when Ireland's tournament is over and that is a reality now facing Ireland as the All Blacks will provide the last eight opposition in Tokyo.

"I don't think we'd be thinking about that," said Easterby, who has been an assistant coach under Schmidt since 2014.

"It's the first time I've thought about it, when you mention it. There's lots of guys have their own way of motivating themselves and have different reasons.

"This group has been challenged in lots of different ways in the last couple of months.

"They've been challenged by the media and more importantly they've been challenged by themselves to keep improving, keep pushing.

"I don't think they'll need any extra motivation - it doesn't get any bigger at this stage for us than a World Cup quarter-final against the All Blacks.

"No, we don't need any extra motivation."

Easterby is perfectly placed to explain how Ireland became a consistent winning team under Schmidt.

Now 44, Easterby made 65 Test appearances for Ireland between 2002 and '08, departing from the set-up before the breakthrough Grand Slam triumph the following year.

I wasnt involved in 2013 (against the All Blacks), and unfortunately they came off second best late in the game, but I think the group as a whole have grown the past couple of years," said Easterby.

"The ability to beat teams on our day has gathered pace over the last few years.

As a team we were often gallant losers in my time as a player, we pushed teams close every now and then.

"We had the odd maybe two or three or four game winning streak against the top sides, and then maybe wed fall over.

But the consistency and the confidence that Joe has brought - not just to beat the likes of the All Blacks, but to go to South Africa, to go to Australia and win a series, to win Championships, to win a Grand Slam - the confidence the group has with the game plan, that they have in Andy Farrells defence...

"There's a combination of different things that have come together all at the same time.

"Sometimes when you dont quite get everything right then sometimes were not good enough.

"Weve seen that as well. So we have to be at our best - or close to our best - on Saturday. And if we are, then well push them all the way.

I think they (the All Blacks) know that, but we also have to be wary of the threats that they bring. Joe is across all of that detail, across our mindset and our understanding of what it takes to beat the All Blacks.

"That filters through the group as we go through the week and the confidence that we gain from has been shown in a couple of performances that weve had against them.

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Ireland not using Joe Schmidt and Rory Best's imminent departures as motivation, says Simon Easterby - Dublin Live

As of right now I feel better than before because I was missing being there [fighting for the UFC], Dern said. This ten months off, everything kind of started off new because I was like, Man, I need to be in there now. So, I feel like I have more drive to be in there.

Fight by Fight Preview|Fighters On The Rise|Fights To Watch Before Tampa

That drive hasnt always been there, as some of the pressure on Dern took away from her passion to fight. After missing weight in her last bout against Amanda Cooper, she felt she was overly focused on the scale and wasnt able to enjoy the process that fight week and the fight itself offers.

I was kind of fighting a little bit unmotivated, she said. The fans were very critical because of my last missed weight and it gets depressing a little bit. You love to fight but you want to like to be there.

Now that shes refreshed and had some time off, Derns motivation to fight is partly fueled by silencing the narrative of her previous battles with the scale. She wants to prove to people that shes focused and a true professional.

View original post here:
Mackenzie Dern Regained Her Motivation - The Official Website of the Ultimate Fighting Championship

When staring across the abyss of a full season of training, swimmers can get discouraged and intimidated by the work and effort ahead.

Relying solely on motivation to hammer all the work necessary to achieve your goals is problematic for a couple reasons.

For starters

On your best days, when the motivational tank is full, you are fully energized, and you wake up with a fire under your chlorinated bottom.

But the rest of the time, it is hard to guesstimate how motivated you are going to be feeling.

Ifyou are tired, motivation and mental toughness suffers. If you are sore, stressed out, having a bad daythese things affect motivation, too.

Because of its fickle and unpredictable nature,there will be times where your motivation is running on fumes.

And thats where things can really take a turn.

When motivation is a whimper, you end up deepening your motivational woes by telling yourself that an elite swimmer wouldnt be struggling with motivation, and that becauseyouare struggling with motivation, by definition you are not elite and will not be elite.

Oof.

Youve successfullypancake-stacked low motivation on top of a flawed understanding of how motivation works, resulting in peak levels of discouragement and un-awesomeness.

So what do we do?

Instead of depending on the flakiness of motivation, build better habits, systems and routines.

Using them short-circuits the need to feel completely motivated to do the things that will help you swim the way you want.

These habits and systems look simple.

So simple, that they might get dismissed as being pointless.

Not grand enough for your grand goals, right?

Butthe gap between knowing and doing lies in the systems, routines and habits you use.

You can be the most motivated person on earth, but if your systems, routines and habits suck, things are gonna fall apart like a cheap training suit the moment your motivation isnt red-lining.

If you are struggling with something in the waternot showing up to enough practices, losing focus mid-set, giving up when things get toughcheck your systems and routines.

This is almost always where the problems originate.

Swimming is hard enough.But building simple routines and habits?

Systems thatcut down on your dependence for more motivation?

Things so small and easy that its almost impossible to say no to?

Thats something you can stick to for long stretches of time. And low and behold, quite motivational.

Olivier Poirier-Leroy is a former national level swimmer. Hes the publisher ofYourSwimBook, a ten-month log book for competitive swimmers.

Hes also the author of the recently published mental training workbook for competitive swimmers,Conquer the Pool: The Swimmers Ultimate Guide to a High Performance Mindset.

It combines sport psychology research, worksheets, and anecdotes and examples of Olympians past and present to give swimmers everything they need to conquer the mental side of the sport.

Ready to take your mindset to the next level?

Click here to learn more aboutConquer the Pool.

COACHES:Yupperswe do team orders of Conquer the Pool which include a team discount as well as complimentary branding (your club logo on the cover of the book) at no additional charge.

Want more details?Click here for a free estimate on a team order of CTP.

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Struggling to Stay Motivated? Try This Instead - SwimSwam

The knife attack at Manchesters Arndale shopping centre on Friday appears to be more mental health-related than politically or religiously motivated, Andy Burnham has said.

The Greater Manchester mayor told reporters on Saturday that he believes the attack is an isolated incident and said the message to local residents is business as usual in the city centre.

Three people are recovering from stab wounds after a man armed with a large knife lunged at shoppers on Friday morning.

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A 40-year-old man has been detained under the Mental Health Act after being arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation and instigation of an act of terrorism.

Counter-terrorism police are continuing an investigation into the incident but it is understood that no political, religious or ideological motivation has been uncovered so far.

Five people have been injured in a series of stabbings at Manchesters Arndale shopping centre. Footage posted on Twitter showed a police pointing a Taser at a man lying face down on the pavement outside the shopping centre as another officer handcuffed him.

John Greenhalgh/Twitter

Greater Manchester Police said counter-terrorism detectives were investigating the attacks at the city centre complex on Friday morning. A man in his 40s has been arrested on suspicion of serious assault.

GrizzleMarine/PA

Paramedics have treated four people, a spokeswoman for North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) told The Independent. No details on the victims' conditions were immediately available.

PA

The Arndale centre has been evacuated.

GrizzleMarine/PA

Police cordoned off the outside the Arndale Centre

PA

A police helicopter flies above the Arndale Centre

PA

Ambulances parked outside the centre

PA

Police surround Arndale shopping centre

Getty Images

Paramedics outside

PA

Getty Images

Five people have been injured in a series of stabbings at Manchesters Arndale shopping centre. Footage posted on Twitter showed a police pointing a Taser at a man lying face down on the pavement outside the shopping centre as another officer handcuffed him.

John Greenhalgh/Twitter

Greater Manchester Police said counter-terrorism detectives were investigating the attacks at the city centre complex on Friday morning. A man in his 40s has been arrested on suspicion of serious assault.

GrizzleMarine/PA

Paramedics have treated four people, a spokeswoman for North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) told The Independent. No details on the victims' conditions were immediately available.

PA

The Arndale centre has been evacuated.

GrizzleMarine/PA

Police cordoned off the outside the Arndale Centre

PA

A police helicopter flies above the Arndale Centre

PA

Ambulances parked outside the centre

PA

Police surround Arndale shopping centre

Getty Images

Paramedics outside

PA

Getty Images

The man believed to be the attacker has now been detained under the Mental Health Act, Greater Manchester Police said in a statement on Saturday morning.

The investigation will be continued by Counter Terrorism officers but an open mind is being kept in relation to any motive.

The arrested man was considered unfit to be kept in custody and has been transferred to mental health detention.

Police have searched the mans address in Manchester as part of their inquiries.

Mr Burnham spoke at the reopened shopping centre on Saturday, close to the scene of the attack.

Yesterdays incident in the Arndale centre was deeply distressing for those caught up in it, but of course for everybody across our whole area, the mayor said.

We think first this morning of those recovering from their injuries and I am sure I speak for everybody in Greater Manchester in wishing them a very, very speedy recovery indeed.

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This would appear to be an isolated incident so the message very much this morning is that its business as usual.

Mr Burnham added: It is important not to jump to conclusions but what I can say is that at this stage, it would appear to be more mental health-related than political or religious motivated but of course we need to allow the police to conduct their full inquiries and we keep an open mind on that until that work is complete.

He also praised the bravery and professionalism of the police and emergency services who responded to the incident,alongsideArndale security staff and members of the public.

Baroness Beverley Hughes, the deputy mayor of Greater Manchester, said: Across Greater Manchester with our partners with health, the fire service and local authorities in particular we do have a robust approach in trying to be as prepared as we possibly can for any situation such as this.

You never quite know how robust your planning is until you are tested in real-time.

I think we were tested in real-time yesterday and the response could not really have been better.

She added: We take some comfort from that, but we are not complacent and our continued approach to training exercises and developing our cross-agency resilience responses will continue.

A man in his 50s, a 19-year-old woman and another woman were rushed to hospital from the Arndale with stab wounds following the incident on Friday, while two other women were treated by medics.

None of the injuries are thought to be life-threatening.

The shopping centre is just a few hundred yards from Manchester Arena, where 22 people were killed in May 2017 when a suicide bomb was detonated following an Ariana Grande concert.

Agencies contributed to this report

Read more:
Manchester stabbings unlikely to have political or religious motivation, Andy Burnham says - The Independent

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Stephen "tWitch" Boss and Allison Holker have got the moves.

Boss stepped away from his DJ booth and took the reins as the guest host ofThe Ellen DeGeneres Showon Friday.And, naturally, he kicked things off in trueEllen DeGeneres fashion: By dancing it out. Of course, he added his own spin to the routine, bringing out his wife ofnearly six years, who also happens to beverypregnant.

"My best advice is to find a dance partner that you trust and you love," Boss said to the audience."And for me, that's my beautiful wife Allison. She is nine months pregnant, she is my hero and she is here. And we're about to groove like onlyBosses can do."

The expectant parents proved to be an absolute mood as they rocked out toNormani's "Motivation." Throughout, they both took pride in flauntingHolker's bump. If watchingher dance so joyously while nine months pregnant doesn't motivate you today, nothing will!

TheSo You Think You Can Dancealums will soon welcome a third tiny dancera baby girlto their brood.Holker is mom to daughterWeslie, 11, and theduo share sonMaddox, 3.

"Can't even express all the incredible emotions we are feeling right now!" she wrote on Instagram after their gender reveal. "I am so excited to be bringing in another beautiful baby girl into the world...This baby girl is already surrounded by love and support!"

Check out the video to see Boss and Holkerbrightenup your Friday!

Don't miss E! News every weeknight at 7, only on E!

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Stephen ''tWitch'' Boss & Allison Holker Give Motivation to Dance - E! NEWS

Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young is soaking up the negativity ahead of what he wants to be his first All-Star season.

Young told Yahoo Sports in a story published Thursday that he goes so far as to keep negative tweets on his phone as motivation. Whether it's shots at his 6-foot-2 stature or the 2018 draft-day trade that brought him to Atlanta, it's all fuel for the 21-year-old.

"I remember coming into high school, coming into college, they were saying, 'He's too small.' Coming into the league, 'He's too small. He has bust potential.' The whole trade with Luka Doncic. I don't know that there's just one [slight]," Young told Yahoo Sports. "And whenever they stop talking just about me, they start talking about the organization and talking about how they made the worst decision and how it could be the worst trade in NBA history. That all motivates me, for sure."

He did take one step toward fixing the size question, gaining 11 pounds of muscle during the offseason.

Young said he believes he has a chance to be an All-Star this season -- but only if he can help the Hawks win more. Last season, they finished 29-53.

"I think if we win as many games as I feel like we can and at least be in playoff contention, I think I have a good chance," Young said. "The more we win, the better my odds are of getting into the All-Star Game, and that's my main focus: winning.

"I know my numbers will be there. I'm not worried about my numbers. I feel like the way we play, the fast pace we play, my numbers will be there. For me, it's all about winning. If we're winning, I have a really good chance of being in that All-Star Game."

He will want to work on some of his individual numbers, though. Young had nine turnovers while scoring 18 points with seven rebounds and five assists during a preseason loss to the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Trae Young admits hanging on to old tweets for motivation - ESPN

As background, Im a professor of communication and journalism, which means I study how people make meaning through media. This is broad, but this focus on meaning and media poses an intellectual challenge that is tightly tied to practices like journalism, technology design, and policy making. These are the professions that often create the conditions under which people make meaning through media, so they matter to public life.

By making meaning through media, I mean this: how people who will never meet face-to-face discover, argue about, and manage collective life, and the stakes involved in our interconnections how communication make publics.

Publics are not natural. They dont exist in the wild. We make public life through:

I could go on. The point is this: How well we govern ourselves learn about each other, discover shared concerns, encourage or sanction behavior all of this governance depends on how well our communication systems work.

Today, these systems of communication these systems of self-governance that make publics increasingly live within privately controlled infrastructures. These infrastructures create the conditions under which people make meaning. They make some publics more likely than others. These infrastructures are often called platforms.

Platform makers often say that they dont create information, that theyre neutral. But we know that they make important decisions about how information is gathered, circulated, analyzed, and sold. They make images of the world with our information. Following Jos van Dijck, Thomas Poell, and Martijn de Waal, we can distinguish between two kinds of platforms. The first is sectoral platforms think Airbnb, Spotify, Netflix, Uber. They connect people who have something with people who want something and they are typically focused in domains, like housing, entertainment, transportation, or news.

But there is a second, more powerful kind of platform I want to focus on: infrastructural platforms. These platforms make the often invisible web through which almost all data today are captured, processed, stored, circulated, and sold. They are typically created by the Big Five technology companies: Microsoft, Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon. They are most obviously search engines, browsers, email clients, advertising markets, social networking sites, geolocation and navigation systems.

But they also make and apply rules about what content is allowed to exist and circulate online. They direct vast global workforces of contractors and private algorithms that moderate speech. Facebook is creating its own Supreme Court to judge appeals. Google has tried to create its own artificial intelligence ethics board. Platforms sometimes talk about themselves as governments and, indeed, the government of Denmark has an official ambassador of technology.

They are building a complete stack of experience through custom hardware, software, server farms, data warehouses, private internet networks, undersea cables, and even entire city neighborhoods like Googles Sidewalk project in Toronto. Instead of thinking about platform companies as the next generation of newspapers, radio stations, or TV channels, we should see them as entirely new entities that shapeshift constantly. Sometimes they are like cities, newsrooms, post offices, libraries, or utilities but they are always like advertising firms. Do not forget this: They earn the vast majority of their revenue through advertising. They are primarily driven by advertising priorities.

The scope and scale of these platforms is unprecedented, moving far faster than governments and civil society, often outpacing the very idea of governance. We are usually left anticipating and reacting imagining what these companies might do and coping with what they have done. We and they are now trying to figure out whether we should simply apply existing rules or invent entirely new ones.

In trying to understand public life in these platform societies, I think there are at least 5 ways to see platform power. (There are likely many more but these seem like the most currently pressing.)

Note that I havent asked: Whats the impact of technology on society? Thats the wrong question. Platforms are societies of intertwined people and machines. There is no such thing as online life versus real life. We give massive ground if we pretend that these companies are simply having an effect or impact on some separate society.

I think self-regulation is proving insufficient, and even platforms own requests for regulation need to be viewed skeptically. It would certainly be easier for them to apply global speech standards rather than fuss with different geographies and cultures, but their desires for simplicity and large-scale standards cannot be allowed to collapse human differences. We should lead with public principles grounded in democratic legitimacy and accountability, not let platforms define for themselves the terms of their own regulation.

Flawed as they are (and they often are), we have courts, we have parliaments, we have elections, we have civil societies we have traditions of democratic legitimacy. And lets not forget: Platforms need us our content, out labor, our attention, our money. They are ours to control if we can figure out how to do it.

See the article here:
Tech platforms are where public life is increasingly constructed, and their motivations are far from neutral - Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard

Just six minutes of walking can increase a persons motivation to perform physical activity and improve feelings of energy, fatigue, depression, and confusion, according to research conducted by Clarkson University Associate Professor in Physical Therapy, Ali Boolani.

Boolani recently completed a study where he measured the mood of patients over the age of 65 before and after taking a six minute walk, and found that patients saw decreased mental fatigue and improved physical energy after their walk.

Patients were asked to participate in a three-day study. On the first day, Boolani and his team measured their moods, had them walk around, and measured their moods again. On days two and three, the patients were given cognitive tasks that were meant to make them feel worse, after which their mood was measured. Then, it was time for a walk.

We had them walk for six minutes around a track, and we had them walk at a pace that they felt comfortable with, Boolani said. Even on the days they did cognitive tasks they started feeling better, and they even got up above baseline, which was really cool.

Levels of anxiety in patients were also found to decrease, according to Boolani.

"Feelings of anxiety definitely improved, this is along the lines of most of the studies that have been done that show that physical activity improves feelings of anxiety," he said.

On top of an increase in physical energy and a decrease in mental fatigue, Boolani measured patients motivation levels.

Turns out, after six minutes of physical activity, they were more motivated to perform physical tasks, He said. In a real setting if youre having a tough day, you dont feel like working out, maybe six minutes of just walking can make you more motivated to be more physically active.

According to Boolani, similar studies have been conducted in the past, but six minutes is the shortest amount of time anyone has tested the impact of walking.

He also said the pace at which patients walked had an impact on their energy and fatigue levels.

The faster they walked, the more their feelings of energy increased and their feelings of fatigue decreased, Boolani said.

Boolanis research was co-authored by Assistant Professor of Biology Shantanu Sur, Associate Professor of Mathematics Sumona Mondal, Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy Chris Towler, Graduate Occupational Therapy Student Abby Avolio, Graduate Engineering Student Da Yang, former Clarkson Undergraduate Student Aurora Goodwin, and Matt Smith, an Associate Professor at Texas A&M.

Excerpt from:
Six Minutes of Walking Can Increase Motivation to Perform Physical Activity, According to Clarkson University Professor's Research - Clarkson...

Note: Inc.'s Ask a 20-Something series offers sage advice for navigating all manner of workplace issues, from the perspective of a young employee.

Q: One of my younger staffers is really becoming a star employee. She's asked for a raise, and my gut says that I need to give it to her or I'll lose her. The problem: There's no money in the budget. How can I keep her motivated without increasing her salary?

A: Let me stop you right there:Yournon-monetary rewardsare insulting. Like,"Eagleton building a Pawnee border wall" level of insulting. (If you haven't seen Parks and Recreation, go watch it as soon as you finish reading this column.)

You see atitle bump without a raise as a tangible reward that doesn't cost money. She sees a big, flashing neon message: Your company can't afford to keep her. She'sgoing to start looking for higher-level jobs elsewhere. Immediately.

I mean, jeez. Is human communication a lost art these days? You can't possibly know what she's thinking unless you ask her, so sit down with her and have an honest conversation. Tell her that she deserves a raise, you simply can't afford it, and she'll be near the top of the list when that money becomes available.

Really explain that second part. I've been in this kind of situation before, and the same thought always lurks in the back of my mind: Is there really no money in the budget? Or are you just trying to placate me? A timeline can help, so if you can, specify when that raise could come.

Ask her about her other career goals. She may want to take on responsibilities that to you seem unrealistic for someone of her age and experience. I beg of you: Please, please, just get over it. Imagine someone with the exact same level of expertise and track record of success, but five to 10 years older. Would you give her that work?

Multiple times, I've lost out on roles to older candidates, despite having a stronger background. I've been told that other people's "life experience" matters more than my industry experience. Still makes me grind my teeth. Denying your young employee high-level work because of her age is a great way to get her eternally pissed off at you. And then she'll definitely want to leave.

Just in case you still aren't buying it, here's a partial solution: Find a way for her to test-drive those responsibilities. She could work with an experienced, trusted colleague on more advanced projects, rather than tackling them solo. You could even mentor her yourself, which would show her that you really do value her talent and contributions.

Most people--young, old, or anywhere in between--are motivated by the challenges they get to embrace every day. If you can't afford her raise, you can at least keep her engaged with new and interesting ones.

If you can't do that, start waving goodbye.

To submit a question for Ask a 20-Something, email calbertdeitch@inc.com. Your query could be featured in a future installment.

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How to Motivate a Rising Star Employee When Raises Are Not an Option - Inc.

The Kansas City Chiefs scored their fewest points in a game with Patrick Mahomes starting, by a lot. Entering Sunday night's tilt K.C. had never scored fewer than 26 points under Mahomes. Against the Indianapolis Colts, they score half that, 13.

The Colts earned the 19-13 victory by playing keep-away on offense, and being physical with the Chiefs skill-position players on the outside. The Chiefs had the ball for 22 minutes, 45 seconds in this game, their lowest time of possession in a game under Patrick Mahomes (0-3 in games with Mahomes in which they had less than 25 minutes of possession).

The Indy D slowed K.C. after the first two drives of the game. First two drives: 10 points, 154 yards; Last eight drives: 3 points, 170 yards.

The Indy secondary deserves credit for overcoming injuries and sticking to K.C. wideouts, eschewing their normal zone-coverage heavy scheme for more man-to-man Sunday night. And the defensive front took advantage of an injured Chiefs O-line, to batter Mahomes in the second half after he tweaked his ankle.

The Colts' defensive effort was particularly special to one veteran: Justin Houston, who played for K.C. for the first eight years of his career before moving to Indy this offseason. Apparently the 30-year-old is a big believer in the #RevengeGame.

"I'd be lying to say there wasn't (extra motivation)," Houston said after the game, via the team's official website. "That's just like your old girlfriend -- you get a new girlfriend, you wanna show off."

Houston finished the win over his old teammates with a sack, four tackles, and two tackles for loss. His biggest play of the game came with just over five minutes left, and the Chiefs going for it on 4th-and-1 from their own 35-yard-line. Mahomes handed the ball to running back Damien Williams, and Houston knifed into the backfield to drag the RB down for a loss. The play allowed Indy to milk more time off the clock and stretch the lead to an insurmountable nine points.

"It was huge," Reich said of Houston's performance. "I mean, even before the game as we break and he was all fired up, he had the whole team goin', gets the sack, great pressure all day, makes the fourth-down stop. I mean, those are massive plays. He is such a great player and such a good leader and such a good person -- obviously I'm happy for all of us -- I'm especially happy (for Justin). You love it when a guy does it the right way like Justin does it and then he gets rewarded with this win as a team and then he played great on top of it."

Houston's play Sunday night typified an entire Colts defense that played better than the sum of its parts, smothering the most exciting passing attack in the NFL.

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Houston: Extra motivation in win over former team - NFL.com