Motivation vs. Discipline

During my morning walk, my brain helped me realize something: I should focus on being motivated rather than being disciplined. Motivation gets the job done just as good as discipline does and, added bonus, its a lot more fun.
Motivation is what gets you up in the morning and makes you excited to start your day. Discipline makes you dread all the tasks on your to do list.

Motivation is what pushes you to work through your lunch hour or your favorite show because you just had a great idea for that project you're working on. Discipline, on the other hand, forces you to stay late at the office because you should have gotten your taxes done two days ago.

The idea of discipline has led me to schedule my work day from 8 to 5 no matter what because I feel like I'm doing something wrong if I start work late or leave early. And because...well...it's what everyone else does. It's hard to go against traditional mindsets. When I don't start work until 9 I feel like I'm doing something wrong. But then I have to remind myself that this is whole reason why I started working for myself in the first place: so I can set my own unique rules and standards.



Being influenced by discipline doesn't only have to do with time. Discipline can creep around every area of your life. The problem with discipline is that when we aren't disciplined we tend to feel really, really bad about ourselves. So, how does a Sane & Satisfied woman, such as myself, learn to focus on motivation rather than discipline?

For starters, you can change your vocabulary. In the morning, instead of saying, "Oh, man, it's 6:00. I should get up", say, "It's 6:00, now I make that breakfast casserole I saw on Pinterest." Yes, making a breakfast casserole probably isn't going to make you money or get you closer to your goals but it will get you out of bed faster, won't it?

It also helps to know what your reasons are behind doing something. Are they even your reasons? Just because all your friends are doing it doesn't mean you have to. Just because characters on your favorite show are doing it doesn't mean you should. Maybe you are doing the right thing but for the wrong reasons or maybe you have the right reasons but are doing the wrong thing. Only you can decide what's right or wrong and a little introspection might be all you need to get back on the motivational track.