Motivation vs. Discipline: Which One Is Better?

While the motivation for losing weight is excellent, that’s merely the first requirement. It’s the discipline we need to achieve our better-body goals. Any number of us can feel motivated to do better for ourselves; however, we tend to be all talk and no action without being disciplined.

The thing about motivation is it comes and goes. Some days we feel like we’re on top of the world, ready to face any challenges. However, every day isn’t like that. In fact, some days, we feel far less “on top of the world” and more like we want to crawl back in bed with an extra serving of ice cream.

Self-discipline can be difficult even when others make it look easy. When we see someone with incredible self-discipline, we rarely see the opposite side, which includes the struggle, requiring strength and discipline to keep your head in the game.

Discipline Is Key

When we have discipline, when we don’t feel like doing something, we don’t let it stop us from doing it anyway. Being motivated only takes us so far, while discipline is rooted in consistency becoming a part of who we are and all that we do.

While discipline may seem a fixed and unchangeable personality trait that we either have or don’t. That’s not the case. Discipline is very similar to our muscles. If we don’t have much, we can work on it to build it; discipline works the same way.

Tips For Building Self-Discipline

Start Simple: Many of us try to change everything all at once rather than easing into the transition. Unfortunately, this often leads to returning to normal once the motivation is lacking. For some, it’s best to make small changes to avoid feeling overwhelmed, but it also leaves you hungry for more. Think of it as gradually creating healthy habits.

Form Several Backup Plans: It’s always beneficial to have more than one backup plan, which holds true for life in general and fitness. There are bound to be times when things don’t go as planned during your fitness journey. We will face obstacles, but we know how to go around or over them if we consider them beforehand. 

Suppose you’ve recently decided to make healthier food choices but find yourself out for lunch with a friend to an old favorite burger joint. Old habits are hard to break, so we should plan things out. Considering obstacles such as the example above, you may already have a mental list of healthy food choices.

Create Healthy Habits Instead of Goals

Make no mistake, goals are excellent to have. But, to truly reach the finish line, we have to form healthy habits that will positively change those old bad habits. Sometimes things are outside our control, like hitting our targets by a specific date. Our behavior, on the other hand, is without our control. Creating healthy habits is more likely to give us the outcome we’re working towards.

Creating healthy fitness habits allows us to have the self-discipline to reach the goals we set once we’ve transformed!

Motivation is essential, but our motivation only goes so far without self-discipline. Anyone can lay in bed and feel motivated to want to do something. Still, it’s a fleeting thought without the discipline to do it, and your fitness goals will go down the drain.