Motivation vs. Discipline

Discipline vs. motivation…let’s talk about it! Although being disciplined and having motivation seem like similar concepts, they actually greatly differ. When you think about discipline, what things come to mind? Maybe it’s meal prepping every Sunday even when time is short. Maybe it’s going for a walk every day even when the weather is gross. Now, think about the term “motivation”...what comes to mind with this word? It’s likely that you thought of phases of life where you were focused on positive habits. Discipline is showing up for the things that matter even when it feels like the hardest thing in the world, and motivation is a fleeting sensation often brought on by specific phases and events. Let’s take a deeper dive into this.

As you probably already notice, discipline is by far the more difficult thing to strive for in life. It requires a lot of shutting your brain off and doing the hard thing. Discipline is also a “muscle” that is built up over time, meaning it has to be practiced consistently in order to improve. Motivation, on the other hand, is fleeting. It is brought on by good days and quick moments. Motivation is often roused from external factors like listening to an inspiring podcast or having an uplifting conversation. Although moments of motivation can help move you towards discipline, it can’t be what you solely rely on to accomplish your goals and maintain positive habits. 

So, how do we move towards discipline? Like any difficult task, it starts with retraining your brain to accept whatever it is you’re trying to be disciplined on as the new norm. This means choosing the hard (but most likely positive) task over and over again even when something easier or more comfortable presents itself, the day has been a hard one, or you just don’t want to. Discipline is literally choosing something more difficult for yourself. BUT, you’re choosing the harder route because it will bring you something better! Usually, this better is related to health (mental, physical, emotional), wellness, business/money, etc. It’s essential to determine your why behind the thing you are working to be disciplined on because it will greatly aid with consistency. If you don’t have a solid reason for why you are trying to be disciplined, it becomes more difficult to choose the hard thing over the more convenient/easier thing. 

Being disciplined doesn’t mean you have to be “hard core” 24/7. It may look different in the cold winter months and in low energy/mood times of life. Discipline during these lower energy/mood times may look like doing slow yoga in your room rather than going to a high energy group fitness class. The discipline remains consistent because you are still choosing movement over stagnance, it just has taken a different form! Honoring these low times can actually be more effective than trying to just “push through” because you are aligning with the natural cycles of your body and the earth. The key is learning to decipher when you need to get out of your own head and just do the thing you don’t feel like doing, and when you actually need your discipline to take a new form because your body and mind need something different/slower. 

Discipline is HARD, but it is something we all should strive for! Your challenge is to choose the hard tasks this week even when you don’t want to! Start building that discipline muscle and see where it takes you!