How to Rely on Discipline more than Motivation
How to Rely on Discipline more than Motivation
One of the most common misconceptions when people choose to change anything about their lives is that its success is directly dependent on motivation. Sure, motivation is a great tool, and perhaps the initial tool for most of us to seek change. Though motivation itself can look very differently to each of us (motivation based on health, pain management, looks, strength/muscle building, betterment of life quality, fear of death, sports/competitions, etc), it is a very unstable source of energy towards our goals. If we think about a car, motivation is truly just the initial spark that starts the engine - not the fuel that keeps it going. In order to maintain a consistent and sustainable lifestyle change in the long run, what we truly need is discipline.
Discipline is often frowned upon as a boring code of behavior that is based on rules and regulations and leaves little room for play and pleasure. Think for a moment of discipline not as the antonym to fun, but rather as what makes fun actually possible. The only true antonym to discipline is chaos, and in chaos one can rarely have fun. Let me explain.
Let’s picture this together. You want to have time to watch TV and sit on your sofa every day. You also know that you need to go to the gym every day. If you have a set time of your day to go to the gym, and a set time of your day to watch TV, chances are you will be able to accomplish both given enough discipline. However, if you fail to go to the gym in your set time, you will chaotically try to fit it in during the rest of the day, which will inevitably result in a stress response of having to choose between the TV or the gym, and one of two things will likely happen: a) you force yourself to go to the gym but feel incredibly upset that you didn’t get to watch TV; b) you watch TV and don’t go to the gym, meanwhile you feel guilty the whole time thinking you should have gone to the gym. Without discipline you accomplished none of those two actions to the best of your abilities. With discipline, you could have gone to the gym in the allocated time, and rested for the other part of the day without any guilt. Win win. You could even set aside a whole chunk of time to “whatever you’d like”, just for the folks who need a little impulsivity and flexibility on what they want to do with their time.
As you can see, discipline will actually make sure you are able to have fun, not the contrary. Though most people seem to correlate discipline with punishment, the root word, disciple, means to teach. Rather than focusing on busting all your bad behavior, think of it as teaching yourself what is acceptable, portion controlling your play/rest time, taking control over your actions and your life, taking agency over your time and, subsequently, taking ownership of your life. Taking pride over your choices. Being an active agent over what you do with your time, and thus how you shape your future, via discipline.
We recommend you start by choosing what needs to be done, in what frequency, and at what times of the day/week you are more likely to do them consistently. Next, creating habits around those actions to make sure that it’s easier and easier to do them overtime (at least 85% of the times! remember, perfectionism is not actually possible in real life). Remember to give yourself enough time to rest/play, but not too much where it’s overindulgent and neglectful of your health (like eating chocolate! portion control is everything). Afterwards it’s about being patient with yourself and with your results. Everything takes time, and discipline, like so much in our health journey, is a skill that requires practice.
A lot of people say that those who are disciplined are boring, anal people. Let’s destroy that concept together. If we reject discipline by fear of boredom or becoming boring, we also deny ourselves access to the exact rituals that would enrich our lives and make us actually interesting. Sure, scrolling on instagram is a good way to pass the time, but does that make you an interesting person? More interesting (or less boring) than the person who devotes 30min every morning to studying something they’re passionate about? Who do you think has more interesting things to say about life in a regular conversation? Who would you want to listen to?
Discipline will take you anywhere you want to. It’s one of the strongest skills you can have. Harnessing discipline may start with your health journey, but it can be applied to so many other areas: skill building, learning, studying, reading, working, brushing your teeth, cleaning your house, watering your plants, hugging your spouse, playing with your children…soon enough, discipline will be a form of worship and pleasure of your own life. Practicing discipline is like writing a love letter to your life, saying “I know I am here for a limited time. I will do my best to utilize said time with intentionality, to the best of my abilities, for as long as I can.”
For more information and help in any of these topics, we recommend you apply for 1:1 coaching where you can take part in our workshops and webinars where we break down how to deal with each issue more deeply!
If this was impactful or meaningful in any way, we’d love to know. We wish you the best in your journey!
Mariana
Hey there, I’m Rachel!
NUTRITIONIST, PERSONAL TRAINER, WELLNESS COACH
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