Motivation vs. Discipline
New year, new me, blah blah blah.
Is anyone else over the talk about resolutions and how this year is the year they’re going to make a million dollars, save the whales, be the best mother/father/partner in world, and do it all while sporting six pack abs?
I’m all about bettering yourself and if resolutions work for you then go with it! But if you’re like me and resolutions for the new year just don’t get you excited at all, don’t fret. For me, a resolution is based mostly on motivation. In the new year, for a lot of people motivation comes easily. It’s why all of these resolutions are in the air. The winds of change blow, and people understandably want to get swept away in it.
But here’s the thing-motivation is unreliable. You have a long day at work, it’s raining, and you want to catch up on the new season of You on Netflix and all of the sudden your motivation is gone. Don’t get me wrong, motivation is important. It can be what gets you started the first few times and gets you out of the door, but on the days where your motivation is lacking, do you end up letting your goal get pushed aside?
If you find yourself in this predicament, this is where a focus on discipline comes in. Discipline gets you out the door. Discipline is what builds habits. Discipline gets you results. Discipline isn’t as fun or exciting as motivation but it’s the reason you’ll set your alarm for a 5:30 am workout or say no to that impulse buy in the aisles of target. You make the same choice over and over again until it’s no longer a question, it’s just who you are and how you function.
What I personally love about choosing to set goals and follow through regardless of motivation is that this form of goal setting not only allows changes and adaptations, it invites them and makes them integral to the process. Say your goal is to give up soda because you want to consume less sugar, once you’ve got that under your belt and without needing to think about it, you turn down soda, you have space to choose something new to focus on.