Forget #Mondaymotivation. How about #dailydiscipline?
Probably just walked to the gym…
I had a total ‘lightbulb moment’ recently. I had been asked a couple of times; ‘where do you find your motivation,’ and ‘how do you stay motivated?’ and I didn’t really have an answer.
It’s also something I’d wondered about many people. Where do they find the motivation to keep on achieving their goals and stay focussed? Surely, I’ll never have that much motivation to succeed in something. But here I was. Committed to a goal and by all accounts (in my opinion), succeeding.
I think we assume that in order to commit to a goal, you must be this super motivated human, that just exudes excitement and enthusiasm in everything that you do. It’s not surprising, considering our social medias are full of people looking really happy about even the most mundane of tasks. When in reality, they too probably wrestled with the snooze function this morning.
But, what I realised, is that we often mistake discipline for motivation.
‘Motivation’ and ‘enthusiasm’ can probably sit in a similar box. And let me tell you, it not very often that I spring out of bed at 5am feeling super motivated to go and walk on a treadmill for an hour. Or feel enthusiastic about hitting a heavy leg session when my legs are still sore from the last one and I’ve just clocked up a 12 hour working day.
More often than not, your motivation levels are going to be average at best. You may FEEL super motivated on January 1st exclaiming ‘NEW YEAR, NEW ME’ to anyone that will listen (me). You may even still FEEL motivated four weeks in. But, it doesn’t last forever (also me). What keeps you going is discipline and dedication.
In no way am I discounting motivation. Motivation is important and it serves a purpose. I’ve written previously about finding your ‘why’ as a powerful source of motivation to keep you pushing through the hard times and that still stands. It’s the reason behind your actions. FEELING that excitement that motivation brings is powerful. But feelings are fleeting.
Discipline is about developing habits over time so that they become second nature. Creating a routine that allows you to put yourself on autopilot and get shit done. It enables you to remove the excuses that our emotions elicit.
Breaking it down:
Motivation is temporary
Motivation is a feeling
Motivation doesn’t guarantee action
Motivation is BIGGER PICTURE
Whereas:
Discipline is consistent daily action
Discipline is unemotional
Discipline is habit forming
Discipline is the SMALL DETAILS
The good news? Anyone can find and create discipline in their lives.
It’s as simple as setting really small daily goals and ticking them off each day. These can be as minor as drinking 3 litres of water a day, walking to work instead of getting the tram, or not checking your phone first thing when you wake up.
Additionally, discipline gathers momentum the more you work at it. The more you do it, the more it becomes your routine and you will soon find these small daily habits add up.
Think of these ‘habits’ as building blocks. Your end goal may seem really far away and almost impossible. But keep building, block by block, focusing on the small incremental changes and you’ll be there before you know it.
Saying this, don’t give up on motivation altogether. Not only does motivation serve a purpose. Motivation and discipline often work hand-in-hand. Use motivation as your inspiration and the fuel to your fire. But when that fuel starts to run out, when you’re tired and don’t feel like pushing yourself, that’s when the discipline kicks in. Discipline is the embers that continue to burn, keeping things hot, even if the fire has gone out for a while. All you got to then do, is add more fuel.
Fucking profound shit right there.
Robyn xxx