by Chris Banescu –
Discipline is much more important than motivation to help us stay healthy, do good work, and pursue meaningful life goals. “Discipline is the driver of daily execution. Discipline defeats the infinite excuses that hold you back,” reminds us Jocko Willink. If we rely solely on motivation to get things done, we will be sorely disappointed.
That’s because motivation comes from our emotions, our feelings. And our feelings are often fickle and fluctuate with our moods. One moment we’re up, the next we’re down. One day we’re full of energy and ready to go, another day we’re exhausted and don’t feel like doing anything. We can’t count on motivation to show up every moment of every day. Motivation won’t be there when we need it, but discipline will. Motivation will not get things done, but discipline will.
Discipline means doing those things we know we should be doing, despite our changing moods. Discipline means getting up early, when we would rather sleep in. Discipline means doing our daily exercises, when we would prefer to lounge around. Discipline means tackling difficult work tasks and projects that will help our career or business, when we would rather do something easier. Discipline means learning new skills or acquiring critical knowledge, when we would prefer being entertained. Discipline means speaking truthfully and acting courageously, when it would be convenient to stay silent and be politically correct.
In my book, Pursue Your Freedom and Happiness, I emphasize the critical role that discipline plays in our personal and professional lives. Without discipline it’s difficult to reach our full potential and discover true freedom. Success in any endeavor depends on hard work and disciplined action over time.
It’s not necessarily the smartest people or the hardest workers who achieve great things in life. As a matter of fact, hard work without wisdom and discipline is no guarantee of success. Rather, disciplined individuals—who continually seek wisdom and understanding—and work both hard and smart, can often accomplish much more during their lifetimes and experience genuine freedom, than more intelligent and driven individuals who lack discipline.
I remember reading a study that compared successful and unsuccessful entrepreneurs and business owners. These men and women were asked how they felt about the unpleasant and grueling work they had to do in launching, managing, and growing their ventures. All of them disliked completing those tasks. The difference was that unsuccessful individuals avoided doing that work as much as possible, while the successful individuals did that work first. None of them were motivated to do those unpleasant chores, but the successful entrepreneurs had the discipline to complete the tedious and hard tasks as soon as possible. Providentially, the disciplined action of these entrepreneurs gave them added freedom to focus on more interesting and creative work they loved doing; which lead to increased innovation and growth of their businesses.
“Make discipline part of your daily life and your daily life will get better,” advises Jocko Willink. Ultimately, discipline in all forms is beneficial to our lives. Psychological discipline allows us to stop bad habits and form healthy ones. Physical discipline leads to fit bodies and sound minds. Financial discipline helps us achieve economic freedom. Intellectual discipline sharpens our knowledge and understanding and leads to personal and professional excellence. Moral discipline strengthens our character and builds wholesome relationships and friendships. Spiritual discipline helps us find truth, wisdom, peace, and joy.
(Photo credit Pixabay)
