Motivation vs. Discipline
Motivation and discipline, two words with a different meaning, but they work together to control one thing: your effectiveness. They can be your best friend, but also your enemy. It’s crucial to understand the difference so that you can be as effective as possible.
So first, what is motivation? Motivation initiates a journey, it’s the spark you get from watching an interesting moving or reading a good book. Motivation ignites the desire to learn and grow. Without motivation you can be as disciplined as one can be, but you will still lose excitement for the things you’re doing. This is where discipline comes in handy. Discipline is motivation’s best friend. While motivation sparks the desire to do something, discipline is a skill that helps you sustain this great thing you’re doing. Discipline bridges the gap between short bursts of motivation and provides a long-term habit. Without discipline the exciting new thing you picked up will slowly get less exciting until you stop doing it completely.
That’s something I struggled with a lot, and still do. I got a lot of different motivational sparks that encouraged me to pick up running for example, or learn a new skill. But after sometime the initial spark faded away and I slipped back into my old habits. I didn’t have the discipline to build a habit and stick to my schedule. I learned that discipline is a skill that you can develop. You need to show up consistently, even on the hard days. That‘s how you slowly build up the disciplined mindset that make you effective.
Of course, a disciplined mindset is not a guarantee that you will stick to your ‘good habits’. You need a combination of a disciplined mindset and a motivational spark once in a while. For me, discipline is a never ending struggle. The things you require discipline for are most of the time things that are out of your comfort zone. But if you stay disciplined, with a motivational spark once in a while. The hard work will pay off.