Discipline over motivation is a concept I’m still trying to grasp myself. Discipline is following through on your commitments despite how you feel. Motivation is following through on your commitments when you feel like it. Two very different things. Discipline focuses on the long-term, as motivation focuses on the short-term and comes in spurts.
When you’re feeling really good about yourself and your life and all that you have going for you, you probably feel motivated to keep it up. But what happens when one thing falls out of place? What happens when you lose touch with that inherent drive? Your commitment dwindles and begins to fade. And that right there is exactly why we need to stop depending on our random spurts of motivation and instead shift our focus to being disciplined. It’s a strong word, I know. I may intimidate you at first, but once you let go of that preconceived notion that discipline is this big, scary thing, you’ll learn to embrace it. That’s when the shift happens.
Being disciplined is all about being in tune with your highest self. You focus on the big picture, not an isolated moment. Just because something gives you a rush of dopamine in the moment, doesn’t mean it will carry on. A lot of the time that rush of energy we’re feeling only lasts a few minutes. Do we want to be content for a few minutes or for all 24 hours of our day? I think the answer to that is clear, and thus the question rhetorical. I’m not here to bash motivation. I’m motivated right now to write this, I really am. But, the difference is I am disciplined enough to sit down each day and force myself to share whatever is on my mind because it’s a commitment I made myself. Motivation isn’t going to keep me going because on my off days, I can be utterly unmotivated. It’s the discipline that keeps me going, and will keep you going too.
Start small. Pinpoint one area of your life that you want to wholeheartedly commit to. Let that one area be sustained with your disciplinary approach. Shortly after doing so, you’ll recognize the difference between motivation and discipline. Upon this recognition, you’ll be able to instill discipline throughout your life, making you a stronger individual, with more grit, more intention, and more progress.
xx,
Kay
