Motivation. Discipline.
People use these words as if they mean the same. Inspirational posters often advocate stimulating words to encourage you to get going, to train hard, to push that little extra. The concept of motivation, often portrayed as disciplined thinking, is sold as the solution to a healthy lifestyle and fitness goals.
There’s a fallacy in here that we must be aware of. Motivation and discipline are not the same thing.
Not necessarily mutually exclusive, as one will build on the other, however how we think about motivation versus discipline is all-important as to how we approach our training goals, including in self defence or martial arts.
Let’s check the vocabulary. Motivation is a desire to to something. Discipline is the practice of doing something according to rules or a code of behaviour.
You will start to see the difference already as you contemplate these definitions in the context of a physical training regime.
Motivation is temporary and fluid. It's fickle, outside of your control. Discipline is long term and fixed. It’s something you do, a deliberate act, not something you occasionally get.
Motivation can inspire you, but don’t rely on it. It’s uncontrollable, finite and and can go as quickly as it arrives.
Let this perspective guide you towards your training goals. If motivation can push you a long a bit, or to get you started, it’s discipline that will ensure the consistency and time required to get where you want to be.
You need to create habits. That’s not a new thing, as humans we rely on habits every day. They’re, well, let’s face it, habitual. What you do every morning is mostly habitual. Driving a car is habitual. Even complicated human relationships can become habitual, maybe not always a good thing. You’re surrounded by habits - or disciplines. They make you who you are, right?
The point is, when it comes to training, you need habits. Habits come from discipline. The more you accept this, the better your training will become. You’re not fighting human nature here. The driving force of the brain is to create automatic patterns so it doesn’t have to use too much power on these. It’s a rather lazy organ. Unlike the workers, the muscles, it’s like the big boss. Commanding, sitting upstairs in the HQ and dreaming about relaxing on the golf course, maybe. You need to shape this boss to what you want or need.
The only thing you need to set your habits and create discipline is a little bit of time. Research indicates that it takes around 21 days to form a new habit - and 66 days to make the behaviour automatic. This applies to bad (but reversible) habits too, sadly.
So it’s just about time. You can create life-changing discipline within a couple of months. Whatever your goal is.
What are you waiting for?
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