Discipline > Motivation or Discipline + Motivation ?

It’s not about which one is better or greater but how they compliment one another

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Motivation is the need to do something out of emotion or when you’re in the zone but Discipline is all about doing it even if you don’t feel like you’re up to the task.

When I started my journey as an undergraduate, I focused on my work with little motivation and I did it because I felt the need to finish it even though I didn’t like the idea of doing the work at all. I could have spent my time playing video games and watching Netflix but somehow, I avoided the need to procrastinate because deep down, I felt that I was inclined to do this work for my betterment.

I knew the stakes of failing my degree and somehow, I mustered up the foundation of DISCIPLINE.

I continued to do my work even without motivation and I had no idea that what drove me to finish my day to day tasks was my ability to complete a self-made schedule that I was unaware of. Unfortunately, in the past year, I lost my drive to focus on my work due to a stressful year and a demanding internship.

This is when I began to think that I lost sight of myself but all along, it was my discipline towards work that I lost track of, which made me to believe that I lost my MOTIVATION.

So I spent the next couple of months trying to recharge myself with all the motivational ideas that I could put into effect in my life to make a difference. I watched movies, read Instagram posts, listened to adrenaline filled music and read articles, all in the name of finding my motivation while I should have realized I burnt away my discipline.

I realized over the years that I went backwards, from following the principles of discipline to being succumbed to the idea of motivation.

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So, dear reader, would you want to accomplish your goal under a temporary solution ? Or would you want to move forward regardless of the challenges and the fragile conditions of your body and mind ?

If it’s the latter you seek, then Discipline is your answer.

I’m by no means against the idea of motivation because I know that everyone needs motivation from time to time, so that it encourages you to move forward. I like to believe that discipline cannot function without motivation but at the same time, establishing discipline is more important than following motivation.

Motivation is very temporary compared to discipline. You can feel the need to do something but as time progresses, you’ll lose that desire and you’ll be forced to go back to regain it.

The more you do this, the more you realize motivation is a drug and you need to constantly have a dose of it so that you can function according to plan.

However, discipline has more impact compared to motivation. It’s more of a routine that you’re driven to follow. It’s a cycle and it repeats itself everyday, forcing you to accomplish your goals or tasks you do on a daily basis.

The idea of this is to throw you head on towards completing your work and achieving your goals even if you wake up on the wrong side of the bed. How you feel mentally is taken into little account when you establish this concept and the benefit of it is that you’ll be able to maintain your focus regardless of your day to day ups and downs.

But even discipline itself has a limit. You’ll do your work everyday even if you don’t feel like it but over time, you will cross a line where you’ll feel as if it’s meaningless. At that point you realize that you’re not driven enough to force yourself to yield to the conditions of discipline.

There will come a time when discipline will backfire whereby you’re not MOTIVATIED enough to force yourself to follow the routine of your day to day life.

So…Which is better ?

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I always see people saying discipline is greater than motivation. I do agree on that to some degree.

I won’t say that motivation is better than discipline but I would like to say that discipline works best if it’s combined with the power of motivation.

If you learn how to follow your daily routine with little hesitation and procrastination, you’re on the right track of establishing discipline in your life. But, in your journey, if you feel like there is a force that withdraws you from your need to focus on your work, then you need motivation to make your bond with discipline even stronger.

You cannot rely on one of them to help you but you have to balance them equally and use them wisely to get your work done.

I realized that I gave more importance to discipline, which drove me to a point where I felt meaningless and depressed. It was not my intention to lose track but over time, the routine made me sick and it drove me to slowly break away from my enthusiastic attitude towards work.

When I decided to find my motivation, I realized that it’s very temporary and at any day, I can go from being productive to being a pro-procrastinator.

It dawned on me recently that if I were to follow my routine and to establish discipline in my work, I do need the help of motivation to keep me on track and to give me the temporary boost I need to follow my daily cycle towards achieving my goals and to-do list of tasks.

Once again, at the end of the day, it’s not about which one is better or greater but how they compliment one another.

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Thank you, Reader!

I appreciate you taking the time to read this story. I hope it was insightful and valuable! Please feel free to leave your feedback and suggestions in the comments below.

Have a great day!