Why We Love Motivation but Struggle with Discipline

[Joshua Michael Hauman]

Motivation is a tricky subject. One moment it ignites a fire within us, filling us with enthusiasm and drive to accomplish our most ambitious goals. The next moment it vanishes without a trace, leaving us uninspired lethargic, wondering whatever happened to the temporary jolt we experienced in the past.

Meanwhile, discipline stands as the bedrock foundation we can always rely on to do the work, regardless of how inspired or excited we feel. Discipline keeps us moving forward with quiet determination day after day while motivation and its inspiration is powerful, yet fleeting like the strike of lightning.

So why do we cling to the thrilling but unreliable highs of motivation while procrastinating the unglamorous yet steady practice of discipline?

Motivations Magnetism 

Motivation is sexy. It provides a welcome rush of feel-good neurochemicals like dopamine that makes us feel alive, stoked, and eager for change. Everything feels lighter when we are in an inspired state. When we're motivated, the work that needs doing somehow feels effortless. That workout we’ve been putting off feels easier, and we want to do more. That project we are working on gets off to a great start and words flow easily from our keyboard.

I am pro-motivation. Motivation is the first push. Motivation helps catapult us into action and movement. It gets our momentum going. Motivation also has a contagious quality. We catch it from others. Just listening to a motivational speech or interview can get our energy levels up. Watching videos of people accomplishing great feats ignites the fire within us and make us want to do the same. I still do this some days before I train. If you know me you know I’m a practitioner of calisthenics. Watching calisthenics athletes pull off incredible bodyweight feats to some hype up music makes me visualize what is possible and what perfect form looks like. Its a paragon of what I'm working to achieve in my own life. It motivates me to train to attain the same. Even fictional movies depicting underdogs rising to triumph have a way of sparking motivation's fire within us. 

The problem is, motivation's magic is temporary. It comes and goes. One day we feel like we could climb Mt. Everest, the next day making the bed feels like too much. Going all in on motivation often leads to disappointment, frustration and unfinished endeavors. Motivation promises the world but doesn't deliver the goods for the long term. There will come a time where the hourglass of motivation runs out, what can you rely on then?

Tapping into the Power of Discipline

Where motivation provides short-lived surges, discipline offers steady, lasting drive. Discipline means doing the work, day in and day out, whether we feel a rush of inspiration or not. It's about creating habits and systems that form the structure we can rely on to make progress.

Discipline arises from self-awareness, commitment to our values, and the for me the strongest factor is the supply of determination to achieve our priorities. It comes down to what you define as truly important to and designing your days accordingly, this builds the foundation of discipline. Small, incremental steps practiced consistently take us much further than occasional bolts of motivation.

While motivation gets us revved up, discipline provides the staying power. When we hit obstacles, the disciplined don't bail or burn out but dig deeper. Self-control and grit that disciplined people have drive them to find solutions rather than crumbling.

Why We Resist Discipline

If discipline is so effective for achieving goals, why do so many of us avoid it or give up on it? A few key reasons:

Discomfort. Discipline means breaking old habits and denying ourselves short-term pleasures for the sake of longer-term fulfillment. It requires exertion and investment that is tough and feels heavy in the moment. Motivation seduces us with the false promise of easy, feeling good and making a transformation requiring minimal effort.

Delayed rewards. Motivation is instantly gratifying: energy, inspiration, excitement right now. Discipline's benefits are delayed. It takes time and effort to see the payoff. Our brains are wired to prefer immediate rewards over distant ones.

Lack of urgency. Motivation kicks our survival instinct into gear, making us feel like we must act immediately to capitalize on this surge of energy. Discipline asks us to chip away consistently over time, even when each small act doesn't feel like its really moving the ball forward much. If I only miss one workout, I’ll get back to this person Monday, etc… this is a dangerous slope. Don’t break the promises you make to yourself. I've found this to be especially true when I lack clarity. For the sailor without a clear destination no wind is favorable.  

Bad associations. For those who had strict parents, domineering bosses or harsh teachers, discipline evokes those memories of restriction and control rather than enablement. This is a tough mental frame to  break for some. I personally see discipline as more the conduit to freedom rather than the prison of control. In other words the relationship with discipline is equated to the padlock instead of the key.

Cultivating Lasting Discipline

The good news is discipline can be cultivated. By implementing a few key practices, we can nurture our capacity for it:

Start small. Vague goals set us up for failure. Instead, set one specific, modest daily discipline - 10 minutes of meditation, 30 minutes of writing, talking to one agent per week, going to one live real estate event in my area this month, joining one networking group whatever it is. Take the first step, it matters.

Make a public commitment. Share your discipline with someone supportive to up the accountability. I got this crazy idea to run a half marathon. I was a lifter at the time and hadn’t done any cardio in months. It didn’t get real for me until I told all my friends and family that I was going to do a half marathon which was in 3 months. This commitment I made was now out in the universe. This held me accountable to myself and to others. The same thing happened when I told everyone in March of 2020 that I was going to buy my first rental property by the end of the year. 7 months later I got it done, just in time to share the experience with my family at Thanksgiving. 

Focus on process, not product. Judge your discipline based on whether you practiced it, not on immediate results. Outcomes require patience. This relates to my today will be a win when framework which I wrote about here:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/1145014-today...

Replace motivation with meaning. Connect your disciplined acts with your core values and a vision of your best self. Purpose fuels consistency. I look at my life as the CEO of the Josh Hauman life corporation. Stock ticker ME. As the single largest shareholder of this stock I ask myself, is this what's best for the Josh Hauman life stock? If it doesn't drive future value for shareholders I avoid it.  

Celebrate wins. Reward yourself after milestones are reached through discipline. I love dark chocolate. When I was building the discipline of writing I would keep a bar of dark chocolate on my counter. Every 40 minutes or so I would take a break and enjoy a snack. Satisfaction inspires you to continue. Its less frequent but I still eat dark chocolate when I write to this day. 

We may love the intensity and rush of motivation, but for lasting change, discipline rules. Self-control, self-mastery is a long road. It’s also the only road that we can take to achieve our most audacious goals. Sure, motivation lights a temporary fire, but real progress often requires doing what's difficult - and that's when the steady deposits of discipline pay off.

With Discipline,

Josh