Motivation Starts The Car, But Discipline Drives It

It's easy to say you are motivated, you are driven, but what does motivation really mean? Motivation is the desire, the want to do or accomplish something. Too often people tie motivation and action together, when really, discipline is the action. Here's the thing, you won't get anywhere without both.

Your motivation is a mental reaction when you are passionate about something or have an elevated interest in it. Whether it is a project, a debate, or cutting your lawn, motivation can and will always waver.

Staying motivated is not easily accomplished and won't happen some days. It is important to keep focused on why you started in the first place, but even then sometimes it is not enough. There is a little trick, surround yourself with positivity, with people who are motivated and goal oriented. Aligning yourself with this type of outlook and these type of people falls back to, birds of a feather. You are what you surround yourself with.

Motivation is a foundational tool of success but it does have a sibling, discipline. Staying motivated is hard in itself, but creating discipline is an art. From what you do in the morning to how you gather new information, discipline is the driver of the car. Without discipline the car can run but it won't go anywhere.

Creating discipline takes discipline. Yes, it is an interesting way of looking at it, but it's true. How can you create a plan, a routine, if you don't already have some form of discipline? Focus on the small things that you are disciplined in already and start implementing larger things.

Last thing you want to do is jump in head first and get burnt out a few months later, like the New Years resolution of going to the gym. Putting too much on your plate all at once creates chaos within your routine and overwhelms you mentally which causes you to lose motivation. It is important that you slowing implement the new changes so you have time to adjust, to make it routine.

Breaking motivation and discipline down, you come to find out that one can not survive without the other. Your mindset and how you attack new challenges, how you implement them, down to how you view them all affect your motivation and discipline to some degree or another. Find out what works best for you and lean on it.