Motivation vs Discipline

What gets you up in the morning? What drives you about your daily routine? Is it the intrinsic habit you have set in your life currently or is there something driving your day-to-day objectives?

That is the debate between motivation and discipline. Quick online searches will show you that a lot of the time there is a defined line in the opinion of which is needed more motivation or determination. Well, I am here to tell you that both are needed for any goal that you set.

Motivation is defined as something that motivates; an inducement, reason, or goal. Basically what keeps you going? Is it a dream to be fitter? More financially stable? A better person overall? Whatever your case motivation is what I like to call your starting point. It's the point at which you say you are ready for change or want something different or better in your life and you are willing to work for it. Here is the catch though. Motivation sometimes only lasts so long.

Have you ever found yourself really excited to start something new? Something that you feel you can tackle forever? Motivation is a great catalyst but what happens when that motivation runs out? That is when we turn to discipline. Motivation can ebb and flow but the act of discipline is what helps drive continuous results.

Discipline is defined as orderly or prescribed conduct or pattern of behavior, or self-control. Discipline is the habits we instill in ourselves that work towards our goals. Holding ourselves accountable for our actions is much more of a challenge than the motivation that we began with however it is just as important if not more important to keep ourselves on track.

Motivation can vary from day to day so with solid discipline we can make sure our actions are moving us ever closer to our goals. Your motivation will be your start and your discipline will be your continuing factor. Here are 5 ways to help you stay disciplined.

1. Make your goals visible to you

One study found that writing down your goals makes you 42% more likely to achieve them. Perhaps it’s the fact that it increases our focus on our goal.

Maybe when we have an increased focus that leads us to be more disciplined in achieving it. Get a journal or planner and start writing down what you want to achieve each day. See how much it makes you more disciplined in getting your tasks down.

2. Keep distractions away

If distractions from your phone or TV lead to distraction remove them. Keep all temptations that can take away from your focus out of your space when you’re in work mode.

You can put your phone away in a drawer and then allow yourself to look at it again after working for a certain amount of time. Some distractions may be out of your control, but the less you have, the better.

3. Make sure you’re energized

If you have less energy, you’ll probably be less motivated. Think about what keeps our bodies energized in life.

• Adequate sleep
• Balanced diet
• Positive relationships

There are many other things that help us to stay upbeat and positive. Make sure you’re giving your mind and body what it needs to reach their peak energy levels.

4. Keep your why in mind

Knowing why you’re doing something may help you focus more on actually doing it. Remember the benefits that you know you’ll gain in being disciplined in the work you’re doing.

Maybe you’re trying to practice something daily to get better. Create a mental image in your mind of how successful you’ll be if you maintain a consistent practice.

Having a deeper purpose and meaning behind our actions can help us to persist in doing them. Figure out what that deeper meaning is for you.

5. Believe you can be disciplined

If you don’t believe you can be disciplined, you likely won’t be. Our thoughts and beliefs about ourselves can play a large role in what we end up doing in life.

You need to have a belief in your mind that you will stay focused on completing your tasks. It might be difficult for some due to a phenomenon is known as learned helplessness.

It’s the belief from previous failures that no matter what you do, you won’t be able to succeed. One of the ways to get out of that mindset and restore belief in yourself is to set small achievable goals for yourself.

The idea is that showing yourself that you can take some control over your environment helps to increase your belief in yourself. It’s important not to set goals that are too ambitious so you don’t reinforce the belief that you can’t succeed. Give yourself a small task, do it, and start believing more that you can be disciplined.

Remember that your motivation and discipline are two factors that are not separate but must work together to achieve your desired goals!