Discipline, Not Motivation

“You will never always be motivated, so you must learn to be disciplined.” This statement struck me as I read it on a Friday afternoon, exhausted from the week and not wanting to the hit the gym after work. Even as a personal trainer, I still struggle with lack of motivation. Or at least, that is what I thought I was lacking. Motivation comes and goes but it is discipline that pushes us through to our goals. Motivation is the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way OR the general desire or willingness of someone to do something. Discipline is the practice of training people to obey rule or a code of behavior. The difference between these two paradigms is easy to see. So what do we need to do to become more disciplined? Practice! Its not something that just comes easy to everyone. Discipline is like a muscle that needs to be worked, and eventually it will become stronger and easier to use. I always blamed my inconsistency on my motivation levels. Desires are feelings or emotions. Our emotions change daily, even hourly. We are tired, we are stressed, we are mentally exhausted — all the things! See how we cannot rely on “motivation” to get us to our goals? I read an article about the differences between discipline and motivation. The differences were explained in a point blank manner. Motivation operates on the erroneous assumption that a particular mental or emotional state is necessary to complete a task. Discipline separates outwards functioning from moods and feelings and thereby ironically circumvents the problem by consistently improving them. Right here! Your lack of desire to train today is due to a feeling or thinking you have to be in a certain mood or mental state to perform your workout. When in fact, if you just show up, put in the work in even if its not your best, your mood and mental state will improve by completing your training due to the effects exercise has on the human body. It elevates us and really, that elevation doesn’t ever drop until we decide to quit (or skip) training. If you wait until you feel like doing stuff, you’re never going to get anywhere. It’s a vicious cycle. The words “I’ll do it later,” or “I’ll start on Monday” are so deadly to our own well being! Yes, there are times for resting, and rest days are so important. What I’m speaking of is relying on feelings to get you to the next level. In addition to training, this relates to anything in life that you want to accomplish. Motivation is situational. You check your workout off as done for the week and nothing more. Its almost blinding because we lose sight of our goal when we become mentally situational. Discipline is like an engine, once kick started, actually supplies energy to the system (exercise endorphins, mood) and the fuel that keeps the engine going is actually consistency. Training is not a chore. It is a blessing and an opportunity. We are lucky. Those who have the ability to challenge their body and simply move, is huge. Don’t take it for granted. Set goals, crush them and even go beyond. Apply a new level of discipline and throw out that old motivation.

-Coach Jess Poe, CPT