Virtual Leadership Summit Session 1

Beyond Motivation: What Keeps Us Going When Goals Stop Working

with Savannah Schuring

Why do the reasons that get us started so often fail to carry us through? 

Drawing on more than 20,000 miles of long-distance hiking and over 100 original interviews with thru-hikers, Savannah Schuring explores how motivation changes over time and why adaptability often matters more than willpower.

Through personal stories and insights from her research, Savannah examines what happens when goals lose their appeal, progress slows, and the strategies that once worked no longer do. She challenges conventional ideas about perseverance, revealing how identity, expectations, and human connection influence our ability to keep going--and why sometimes persistence requires changing our approach rather than simply pushing harder.

Far from being just a talk about hiking, Savannah invites audiences to recognize their own experiences in the stories of people navigating extraordinary challenges. Whether facing uncertainty at work, shifting priorities, personal setbacks, or long-term commitments, attendees gain a new perspective on what sustains effort and how to approach their own challenges with greater adaptability, self-awareness, and compassion.

Savannah Schuring is a long-distance hiker, researcher, author, and speaker whose work explores how motivation, endurance, and human connection evolve under sustained challenge. Drawing on more than 20,000 miles hiked across the United States and over 100 original interviews with thru-hikers, she combines firsthand experience with qualitative research to examine what keeps people moving forward when initial motivation fades.

Her work bridges outdoor culture, psychology, and everyday life, challenging conventional ideas about grit, strength, and achievement. Through storytelling, research, and personal reflection, Savannah looks at the roles of adaptability, belonging, and identity in navigating adversity, persistence, and redefining success.

She is the author of Between the Miles: Inside the Minds of Appalachian Trail Thru-Hikers, a narrative nonfiction book exploring the psychological and personal transformations of long-distance hikers. As a speaker, she brings these insights beyond the trail, inviting audiences to reconsider how they approach challenges, respond to uncertainty, and find the support and purpose needed to keep going.