Discipline over motivation for getting things done
Hi everyone! Last week we discussed our thoughts on motivation. They were in alignment with the general point of view of deeming motivation as important for getting things done. However, we have to consider something. When you read biographies of great people or watch a ted talk, you may notice they rely more on discipline than motivation.
Motivation can help you take the first step but its discipline that keeps you going.
What are your thoughts on this, do you think motivation matters more or do you believe discipline is more important?
Lets take the topic of exercise and make our case.
@Hope
Motivation from a higher ideal or some kind of positive reward requires discipline in the long run. The excitement of the new idea of our grand journey really motivates us until the hardships start to set in and then it takes discipline to follow it through to the end. Motivation can fade away without a win sometimes. Discipline and perseverance gives us those wins which keeps the motivation lively.
If fear or dire consequences is the reason for our motivation then I think motivation is the driving force. Like the fear of failure or the fear of what will happen to others if you don't complete something. Acting or doing things under some form of duress is not the same as voluntary discipline. When our motive is survival, not growth or enrichment, that's all there is; motivation to survive.
That's what I think anyway.😏
@Hope
people need the motivation but honestly the discipline outweighs motivation..... I took up daily walking challenge a few years ago and lost weight... a close friend of mine spoke often about needing to lose some but was not ready to put into action.
This year she had doctor tell her must be done.... she started trying to do / follow all diet/ exercise advice which is not feasible ........ i told her start walking..... Every day in a week she was it is not working...... told her keep walking i did not have instant results either..... same thing over and over not working blah blah ... kept telling her stick with it ... finally a dr appointment showed her it is working down 12 pounds and it is something that needs to be done everyday not just when motivated for a day or two.
That's amazing for your friend!!
@Hope,
I believe discipline is far more important in the long term. Motivation can be very critical in starting the journey but it can fluctuate or be non-existent over the long journey.
In those times, discipline allows us to be consistent. Speaking from personal experience as a fitness expert over the last 9 years.
@Hope
Both motivation and discipline are important, but discipline tends to be more reliable for achieving long-term goals because it helps you stay on track even when motivation is low or absent. A balance of both is often the most effective approach.
I think proper motivation creates a continual disciplined personality in a person. If one can't get a healthy environment or gets motivated, it will be hard to carry on going just by the habit of discipline.
@Hope
Motivation is more important than Discipline.
Without the why, discipline alone feels like forcing yourself to act on some direction. Yes you may get goals met. With you will just be mechanical & have momentary excitement, without the flame.
Do that and you will be aimlessly dragging yourself from target to target, accomplishment to accomplishment which may look good to others or win extrinsic rewards.
But inside you will feel empty and hate yourself for not having a say and enjoyment or passion in your tasks. YOU the Soul were absent. All accomplishment will feel meaningless to you, as you begin searching for what you really want....
That's the motivation what will have driven your discipline to greater heights, which was absent.
Motivation is more important to give your reason to be disciplined.
Motivation
For me discipline means sharing my goals with others. I know this isn't the best but when I have someone else who expects me to do something (without pushing me too hard), it's much more motivating. For example, I told two internet people I was going to the bus station Tuesday at a specific time. (Picking a particular time also helps). So when that time came, I was ready to go and messaged them both that I was going. Had I just said that to myself, I would probably just stayed home like I have before. This is one of the positives for social media for me.
Discipline outweighs motivation.
Speaking as someone with ADHD, motivation is unreliable. To get results, it’s important for me to be able to do things even when I don’t want to. So if I had to pick one, I’d say discipline is more important.
