Motivation is the spark. Discipline is the long burn.

In the grand scheme of things, discipline often takes precedence over motivation. I’d argue in most cases. It may take precedence but, this does not mean it can’t work hand in hand.

Our brains love to make value-based decisions. The easier the take, the larger the reward, the more motivated we are! Without boring you with the molecular science, the dopamine (the molecule that makes you happy!) system is primarily active towards motivation (we won’t discuss opiates). And because of this, it’s difficult to sustain for a long period of time.

Think of wanting or liking something as the oxygen for your motivation. You want something or you like something? Boom have some dopamine. Dopamine will make you do a McDonalds run at 12am for a McFlurry.

But, when you think of discipline, think of it as your present self taking a hit for future you. It’s essentially you showing empathy for your future self. Discipline is what allows you to put in the extra hours, maintain a healthy routine, stay focused, and ward off procrastination. It’s the commitment to your goals, remember that matchstick burning long after the initial spark?

“Those times when you get up early and you work hard…when you stay up late and you work hard…when you don’t feel like working, you’re too tired, you don’t want to push yourself, but you do it anyway. That is actually the dream…It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.”–– Kobe Bryant

The greats aren’t immune to the weakness of human willpower. Discipline puts your body on auto pilot to push through – Mike Tyson has some brilliant clips!

If you’ve read this far, you’re on your way to making your life 1 step better. To be honest, the battle between motivation and discipline is a constant struggle one, but it’s a battle worth fighting.

Envision this. We all want to look like greek gods in the sunlight. We all want to eat healthy. We all want to work hard. We all want the first class honours. Or A* grade. The 4.0 GPA. But, if it were so easy, we all would already.

It’s a contrast that plays a crucial role in all of our lives, affecting our ability to achieve goals, whether in sports, work, or personal growth.

A great book I read, called “Motivation Triggers” by Patrick King, put it so simply.

Think of motivation as “the collection of psychological forces that allow us to initiate, organize, and persist with behaviors that will ultimately lead us to the achievement of a goal.”  In other words, think of motivation as the initial spark of a match. Intense, hot, burning bright. Short-lived. It got me self-reflecting, why do we randomly want to achieve our goals in the middle or the night? Or at 4am in the morning, i want to hop on some COD for some ranked play. Why not at the start of the day? This has a different relation to sports but, i know that most of us want that motivation for out of life stuff.

Okay, so how does this motivation differ from discipline, and why are they both essential components of success?

And why the hell is it so bloody difficult? 

It starts with the relationship between motivation and discipline!

What is extrinsic motivation?

Extrinsic motivation is when we engage in an activity to attain an external reward or avoid punishment.

Think of one of you studying hard for a test at school to either get good grades or not get shouted at!

A lot of my readers will relate to this; you’ve committed to a 4 year degree, and after two years you don’t want to do it. Your external motivation here may be to continue this course as to not feel like you’ve wasted both money or time. 

It’s how i felt early into my degree but, i had decided to power through based on my extrinsic motivations. I had to suck it up (glad to have done so).

What is Intrinsic Motivation?

Intrinsic Motivation propels us into action simply because we find the activity itself enjoyable or rewarding. For example, for me coaching Call of Duty may seem weird, but my intrinsic motivation lies in the joy from helping others and seeing their progress. (Not including winning, obviously)

I would consider this the strongest and purest form of motivation. Doing something purely out of your own desire. That spark lasts a hell of a lot longer when it’s intrinsic.

Another example is say you want to compete in professional sports. The intrinsic motivation would, you’d hope, to become the best your craft and win. For the sake of this, we won’t talk about this situation in particular.

Let me give you another example, lets say you decide to do sports – not to win but, to develop better habits and routines. I did this with Boxing. I didn’t want to become a national champion, instead to lose weight and lean down.

I train for the first time, and let me tell you, it was the most intense activity i have ever done. For you combat athletes out there, you know what i’m talking about. I reached down deep into reserves i didn’t know existed. Forget second wind, i felt like i had gone through sixth wind. This was all done from the intrinsic and some extrinsic motivation for the first few sessions.

Now, after the first few months – yes it gets slightly easier. I don’t get shin splints as often. I’m still pushing myself as much as i can. But the excitement fades away, slowly. The soreness the next day, does not. The cardio in the cold, does not. The exhaustion, does not. The feeling of throwing up after pushing yourself, does not. The cramping, does not.

So now, i’m not looking as forward to boxing as i did when i first started. I don’t fancy running in the snow anymore. I don’t fancy isometric work anymore (planks and all that). But you know what kept me going? Discipline. It felt like i was on auto-pilot. It was the commitment i made, as part of my routine and habit. I did all these on days where i didn’t want to.