Discipline not motivation
If you rely on motivation, you rely on what can come and go. What may be and what may not be.
Motivation can be your friend, but in short supply your dependence on it becomes an enemy.
You must not allow yourself to rely solely on motivation as your driver forward.
Discipline involves having the ability to function and do what you have to even in the absence of motivation and a favorable mood. It allows you to function optimally even when motivation is in short supply.
It’s even the way to function despite hurdles. Anger, fear, sadness, and other negative emotions can hold you back and debilitate you in the absence of discipline.
Discipline done right is not flimsy
If you have an abundance of discipline, you can function, accomplish goals and succeed even in the absence of motivation. When you have discipline, you no longer need or depend on motivation’s flimsiness.
Motivation can come and go. If you train your discipline and maintain it, you have a resource to tap into that is more reliable and beneficial than motivation.
Most states of mind (like courage, willingness, desire, etc.) fall far short in terms of reliability compared to the much more consistent discipline.
What if you don’t find the motivation?
A reliance on motivation means relying on something unpredictable. You may find it, you may not.
Knowing when you’ll find it is also a whole separate issue. If you rely on motivation, what do you do if it just doesn’t come to you? What if you stay unmotivated for a week, a month, a year, forever? Do you just keep waiting? Do you just keep hoping that one day the motivation will find you?
Don’t bother. Instead of waiting for motivation, build discipline. It’s a better use of your mental energy.
Build your discipline
Break free from any reliance you may have on motivation by building discipline instead. This is a better use of your time.
If you built discipline instead of every moment you spent waiting for motivation, where would you be? What would you have accomplished?
You could be capable of great things, but you may have just been waiting for the wrong mental state all along.
Don’t use mental energy and waste time entertaining your motivation. Use that energy on discipline instead.
It might be hard, but it’s worth it
Discipline may be harder than motivation. Sometimes working through whatever you may feel and whatever lack of incentive you have can be an arduous task. But this discomfort offers a great potential for reward.
Rather than doing nothing and hoping you one day find the motivation to function, you can instead do something regardless of how uncomfortable it may make you feel. Get comfortable being uncomfortable.
Having motivation may be ideal for optimal functioning, but this does not mean it’s the only state you can function optimally in. If you can function despite your lack of motivation (by using discipline), this is where you increase the chances of actually seeing improvement and advancement in your life.
The benefits of discipline can positively impact your life in many areas; health, finance, education, career, etc.
Don’t let discipline be a choice (it might not even be one)
Don’t let yourself choose if you are disciplined. This is contrary to the point of having discipline. Be disciplined whether your body and mind approve or not.
Don’t make discipline a choice, make it an obligation.
This is, of course, if it isn’t already an obligation. A lot may be riding on you. There may be a lot of important things that are necessary for you to accomplish. If you rely on motivation you may fail, and failure can be costly.
Discipline may not be your choice but instead your obligation. The cost of failure can be huge. Don’t risk losing; be disciplined.
