This past week, I finally got my Ph.D. It’s what I’ve been working hard towards for the past two years and two months, and if there’s anything I can tell you right now, it is that there is no secret. No tips or tricks that got me my doctorate faster or anything that’s a secret pass to unlocking success. I don’t have any secrets. Why is that? Because what got me here was sheer discipline over motivation.
Motivation, of course, always plays a big role in why I do what I do for work, but there is one crucial lesson that I must share.
Discipline will always win over motivation. Yes, every single time.
Happy couples, the majority of the time, don’t just magically work out because they’re perfectly compatible in every way. A bulk of couples that are truly happy succeed because they simply put in the work for it. They go beyond just telling each other that they’ll get better, improve, and change… it’s zero fluff. They simply do.
Fitness influencers never lose the weight they need to because they daydream about how they are going to lose it. It’s not because they visualize the perfect diet or gym plan. It’s because they actually got up in the morning and put their diet and routines to practice.
I can name hundreds of other examples that follow this exact same structure. When I say to prioritize discipline over motivation, I mean it! Nobody realizes it because it’s the ugly truth. Nobody really wants to put in the hard work. They want people to tell them they can, but how many of those end up in success stories? To be truthful, not many of them. It’s only the ones that act that get what they want.
That’s why I’m here to tell you my best tips on enhancing your discipline skills, so you can get what you want in the most streamlined way possible and properly use your discipline over motivation.
1. Stop relying on bursts of motivation.
We’re all guilty of not relying on our discipline over motivation. Putting off work for later because we don’t feel like doing it, and relying on random bursts of motivation to get heaps of tasks done at once. While these bursts can be highly productive, the truth is that it is simply not reliable. Sure, it can be fun to suddenly redecorate your entire bedroom at 1 AM on a weekday, but what about the other weeks when your space needs a little TLC? The best way to do this is to keep track of your distractions and limit them once you’ve compiled your list of things that keep you astray from your work. I’m not saying to rid of them completely, but instead just separate yourself from them when it’s time to get things done.
After all, that’s what discipline is all about. It’s about exerting self-control over your temptations and limiting them to enhance productivity. There’s a reason that this works so well, but there’s also a reason why not many people do it.
Discipline in itself is hard work! Paying attention to our temptations is a natural response in our body. It’s only up to you to find methods of working around that in order to perfect discipline over motivation.
2. Find different angles to enhance discipline over motivation.
Discipline over motivation is hard work because it’s not fun. On the other hand, it’s always fun to imagine the finish line; getting the award or finally marrying the partner of your dreams. The thing is, it will never just fall into your lap. You need to analyze every angle on how to reach your goals healthily. Doing the work is not fun, but working to find those angles that enhance your motivation is! It’s not that motivation isn’t important, it is actually required to achieve your goals and keeps your mental health in check. You just can’t rely on it. It’s a healthy mix of both utilizing your motivators and discipline over motivation that will get you your goals. Don’t rely on your influencers. Rely on yourself.
Incorporating your discipline with the energy you get from your motivators is not easy; after all, it takes a little over two months to form a habit before it becomes something you don’t have to think twice about.
Form your habits with patience. Instead of relying on motivation, find those different angles that will help you appreciate motivation differently rather than using it to work. That’s what your self-control is for.
3. Release your toxic relationship… with instant gratification.
Instant gratification is the vice of temptation. We stay in toxic relationships (romantically, in the workplace, with family… just about everywhere) because we rely on the little moments of forgiveness in the grand scheme of trouble. Instant gratification, if relied on too much, will destroy your methods of discipline over motivation. It will not get you results, but rather, it reaffirms your bad habits. It’s like looking for a reason to validate your lack of discipline, and it’ll give you one. While it can feel rewarding to make decisions that have direct consequences soon after making them, the real treasure is working for decisions that will continuously reward you over time. That’s the reason tip #2 exists; find the different angles and choose your appreciation for motivation in the long journey to self-improvement, rather than letting instant gratification do the imaniary work for you.
Simply put, while motivation is great for boosting mood and confidence, it won’t get you far in reality. Chances are, you already have enough of it! Now, you need to find the motivation to achieve discipline and really put in the hard work to practice it. It will be hard and frustrating at times, but remember this: you wouldn’t have character without it.
The biggest plus is that once you nail the method of practicing discipline over motivation… you can just about use it anywhere. You can use discipline over motivation to improve your relationships, get the career you wanted, achieve your dream body and dream house… the list goes on! You got this.
