Discipline is the Bridge to Accomplish Our Goals

“How do you stay so motivated?”

I get this question frequently. Usually, people ask this in reference to me going to the gym or working out, something I try to do very consistently. But it could apply to anything I do consistently.

I’ll let you in on a little secret: I’m not always motivated.

I know, probably not the answer you were looking for. Let’s get honest. I often have a toddler inside me who likes to lie down on the floor kicking and screaming and pounding her fists on the pavement in protest for whatever activity I’m about to drag her to. No, really. She’s a little stinker who doesn’t like to be told what to do at all.

I have learned – and I think is true not only for myself but for everyone as well – is that we’ll not always be motivated. We have to instead cultivate the discipline to carry out with whatever the action is anyway.

DISCIPLINE IS THE BRIDE

Jim Rohn said, “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment,” and I couldn’t agree more. We won’t always be motivated, but if we can learn to be disciplined, we can accomplish so many things.

If I set the goal to go to the grocery store, for example, but don’t have the discipline to write the grocery list and get up off the couch and go, I won’t accomplish going to the store. 

Okay, silly example, but you get my point!

How often have you started a new workout routine, but then after a couple of weeks you give up on the gym? For some people, that’s every January!

How often have you said you’re going to stop drinking, but then after a month on the wagon find yourself drinking again?

How often have you said that you’re going to be on time to work or to school, but you find after a couple of weeks of punctuality you start showing up late again?

We often site lack of motivation for accomplishing our goals, but it’s actually lack of discipline. 

I can be disciplined to achieve my dreams but still feel unmotivated some days. But since I’m disciplined, I do it anyway. And I can feel motivated today, but unless I cultivate discipline, I will quit the first day I feel unmotivated. 

BECOMING DISCIPLINED

So how do we become disciplined? Let’s look at the example of going to the gym: 

1. I first have to set a goal to go to the gym. I have to decide how many days a week I want to go. Then, I decide how long I will stay each time I go. If I don’t decide these two things, I will never go to the gym consistently. I have to set parameters for my goal. Also, I have to make sure I’m realistic. Can I really sustain my goal for a long period of time? Or am I setting myself up for failure?
2. Secondly, I have to decide “my why” – why do I want to go to the gym? Do I want to build muscle? Do I want to lose a few pounds? Or do I want to be a part of a community and nurture friendships with people at the gym? Deciding why I want to set the goal to go to the gym will help motivate me to go and keep me going.
3. Remember I just said I’m not always motivated? So setting a goal and establishing my why are not enough. I then have to be intentional. Just like I would a doctor’s appointment or a work conference call, I have schedule my gym time. I have to put it on the calendar.

If I do the first three things – set the goal, decide my why, and schedule my actions – then on days I feel unmotivated to go to the gym, I can look at the first two to give me the push to do the third. If I have a goal and my reason I want to accomplish the goal, and if I’ve scheduled the action, I am then more likely to follow through with the action.

And on the days I’m not motivated? I look back at these three things and do the damn thing.

DISCIPLINE IS NOT ALWAYS EASY

The example I just used is about going to the gym, but it really applies to developing discipline for goals big or small.

The most important thing to remember is that being disciplined is not always easy. Being disciplined sometimes means we miss out on some activities because we already committed to our goal. Sometimes you will be uncomfortable. Sometimes you will have to dig deep and summon strength you didn’t know you have.

But despite all of that, discipline is the bridge to turn our goals into our accomplishments, and what better feeling is there than a sense of accomplishment? 

Until next time,

Jeri Austin