Why building discipline is better than hoping for motivation!
Hands up: how many of you have been saying things like “I don’t feel motivated to go for a run”, “I’m just waiting for the motivation to finally hit me to do this” or “At first I was super motivated and it worked great, but then it stopped and I kind of dropped off”.
I have been there too, so there’s absolutely zero shaming if you put your hand up right now. For those of you who know me no more than 5 years won’t believe me if I say this but: for years and years I was very demotivated to pick up a sport or have a regular workout practice.
I actually used to hate sports, the gym was a far away scary place for me, and besides the occasional Pilates or bum training video I didn’t do shit.
But when I moved to the UK I changed that. I promised myself I would find a sport I become obsessed with and I signed up to the work gym, got myself a PT, and haven’t looked back since.
For the last 5 years at the time of writing, I have been super consistent with my workout practice and have transformed my body and my mindset when it comes to the gym. It’s such an integrated part of my life that I do it on autopilot, even when I don’t feel like it, even when the motivation is low.
I get asked regularly “Josi, How on earth are you so disciplined?”. If you’re one of them, then keep on reading.
So today we will explore why there is a problem with relying solely on motivation, we will look into the difference between motivation and discipline, and I will also provide you with some tips on how you can become more disciplined.
First things first, if you look up the definition of motivation it is: “a reason or reasons for acting or behaving in a particular way” - sometimes it can also be replaced with stimulus. And that’s the thing.
Motivation is the drive or desire to achieve a particular outcome, often stemming from external factors or short-term inspiration.
In other words, motivation is the initial fire that will help you to start something, but it’s not a sustainable nor reliable source to draw upon if the action in question is something that is done daily, consistently, or routinely like working out, drinking more water, being on time to meetings, journaling every day and so on.
Which is where discipline comes into play. As it involves consistently following a set of rules or a routine to achieve long-term objectives, regardless of immediate emotional states.
Even research in psychology and neuroscience supports the notion that discipline trumps motivation in sustainable goal achievement. The brain's reward system is activated when a task aligns with our long-term goals, creating a positive feedback loop that reinforces disciplined behaviour. As mentioned, this contrasts with motivation, which tends to be fleeting and relies heavily on external factors that can include competition, deadlines, feedback from peers, or also financial incentives like a bonus or pay rise.
However there is even a further difference between this type of motivation and intrinsic or internal motivation. The latter is actually pretty powerful, as it represents your very personal why you are doing something that is based on your values, goals, and desires.
It’s when you do something that you find enjoyable, interesting, or just hits the spot for you. It's like doing an activity just because you love doing it, not because someone is giving you a prize or telling you to do it.
But again, this alone might not be enough for the days you just don’t feel like it, or because it’s raining, or insert any other excuse that might come to mind.
So the magic truly happens when you combine intrinsic motivation with discipline.
Intrinsic motivation provides the genuine desire and passion for what you're doing, making the journey enjoyable and fulfilling. When you're intrinsically motivated, you're more likely to embrace tasks willingly and persistently because you find joy in them. Then when you add discipline into the equation you will get to a state where you can ensure a consistent and structured approach to your goals, helping you stay focused and overcome challenges like falling ill, bad weather, spontaneous changes in plans, and so on. It acts as the guiding force, helping you turn that initial motivation into a daily routine and habits.
This combination helps you to stay committed and maintain steady progress towards your goal. It’s like perfect alignment between your values, your promises to yourself, and then the resulting action you take.
Now that we know, not to rely on motivation alone but to focus on discipline: let’s finally spill the beans on how you too can become more disciplined. So I want to share with you some examples of what I did that has helped me to become super disciplined in the gym and also when it comes to working on my business and other areas in life.
Here are a couple of tips on building more discipline:
I have a goal and a why. I want to be healthy and strong, have a successful business that provides me with financial and time freedom, or I want to make my childhood dream come true of being a published author.
I fall in love with the process so it doesn’t feel that hard anymore because I love doing it. At the beginning of my fitness journey, I also used to reward myself with for example new gym clothes. However now that I have a way more of a minimalist lifestyle, this doesn’t do it for me anymore and at the same time working out regularly has such an integrated part in my day-to-day life that I don’t need an extra reward to do it as the doing of it is the reward.
I do it even if I don’t feel like it and follow the rule to never skip twice. This rule especially has helped me to keep on going and not give in to the self-sabotaging thought of “Ah well now that I didn’t do it yesterday it can wait another day”. I will always make sure to come back to it. Which leads to:
I make it a priority and non-negotiable. This is true for self-care in general and this practice not only has helped me to build discipline in the gym or when writing my book, but also throughout my burnout recovery. You do what you prioritise and what is important enough for you to do. If it’s not, you don’t do it. I’m sure you might have come across the quote “To change your life, you need to change your priorities” - and how right that person is.
I have accountability systems in place and eliminate distractions. Whether that might be training with my boyfriend, or friends, having a personal trainer, signing up to classes, entering the Gymshark 66 challenge or learning to be qualified as a personal trainer myself. I always had something or someone that helped me to stay accountable and it made a huge difference. In addition, eliminating distractions or setting up my environment for limited distractions is a big help too. This could include turning off notifications, creating a dedicated workspace, or using apps that block distracting websites.
I, for example, would block out time in my calendar for writing and not accept, cancel, or reschedule meetings that fall into that timeframe, and recently I have been blocking my phone during our gym sessions so that I don’t get distracted with Instagram notifications or messages from clients and friends. This also highly improved my focus AND saved a lot of time during the workout as I just get it done and dusted and don’t sit on the bench for eternities trying to think of something smart to put into my stories.
So as you can see, saying things like “I don’t feel motivated to go for a run”, or “I’m just waiting for the motivation to finally hit me to do this”.
Don’t wait and try to be more motivated, learn to be disciplined to do it anyway when you’re not.
See it like a steady friend that stays with you even when you don't feel like doing something. Motivation is like a visitor that comes and goes. Discipline is reliable; it helps you stick to your plans, keeps you on track, and turns your goals into real achievements. So, while motivation is good for a quick start, discipline is what sees you through to the finish line.
You can improve your discipline by having a strong why and goal, learning to fall in love with the process (which in my opinion is the most powerful way), rewarding yourself, and celebrating your successes along the way (mainly needed in the beginning, not so much later on), to not skip twice, make the task at hand a priority and put accountability systems in place that support you.
xoxo
Josi
