id: dm title: Discipline and Motivation previous: llf next: wgl date: 2021-03-20 ---

## Discipline and Motivation

Motivation is fantastic. I can rarely get as much done as when I am fully engaged and want nothing more than to keep chugging. When I get excited, doing nothing just does not seem like an option. If you get hit with that feeling take full advantage of it. The problem is that days like that are rare. It depends on so many things and some luck.That means that relying on motivation for consistent productivity is pretty much relying on chance. I do my best to think of times like that as a bonus. Something extra that bumps me a little further forward then I had planned.

I picked this topic this week because I am having trouble writing. There is a fair bit going on in my life at the moment and so it is more work than usual to sit down and write. This is definitely not my best post, I am pretty stuck, but just going through the motions is still worth something.

So it might be short this week but it is important to know that everyone runs into blocks and has a rough time. We might not be able to do everything at our best. It is very important to still do as much as we can.

Discipline is motivation’s much less fun but much more reliable partner, it is also what we need to turn to when motivation is lacking. Things need to be done every day, and it is surprising how much we can get done by doing a little at a time.

Jocko Willink has a good guidebook that is characteristically titled Discipline Equals Freedom. It is a collection of thoughts on the subject and includes some actions to take to use as a baseline. It is true that the more disciplined you are in an area the more freedom you often have in that same area. Disciplined spending plans result in financial freedom, disciplined exercise routines result in physical freedom etc. It is also very true that even when we are feeling off it is important to try anyway.

Now that I am getting into writing this is flowing much more easily. Often getting started is the hardest part when I am not feeling it. It reminds me a lot of the times when I was younger and did not want to go to gymnastics at times. My parents would make me go and start the class. It was never the case that once I was a half hour into the class that I still wanted to go home.

More than any other thing, I have found that, discipline is needed for habit formation. Over time the repetition builds (or breaks) habits. No matter how excited you are to start something there are always going to be bumps. Times when you don’t want, or can’t manage to follow through. Habit formation is dependent on regular repetition more than anything else. When designing your new habit you want to make it as easy as possible to minimize the amount of discipline you need. It is impossible to completely eliminate it though.

Discipline is never easy, but the more you use it the easier it gets. It makes life easier in the long run.

Thanks for reading

Phone time: 11h 34m