Forget motivation, Discipline is the key
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If there's one thing I'm convinced of it's that there isn't one single path, one way to success.
I track this to a great business book titled "The knowing - doing gap." One of the premises is that if there was one single business/organizational/personal success program that would be the only one in the market.
There's a reason there are hundreds to thousands of support groups, counselors, personal trainers etc.
Power to the person who puts up the picture of themselves from a skinnier day on their refrigerator or who looks at their child or spouse and sees a reason to become healthier.
At heart, if someone believes that it's motivation or discipline that makes the difference, it does.
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middlehaitch wrote: »I like commitment.
Discipline is harsh sounding and inflexible, to me.
Motivation is too much of a short lived rush, to me.
Commitment means I will do it.
Just my interpretation.
Cheers, h.
I like commitment too
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middlehaitch wrote: »I like commitment.
Discipline is harsh sounding and inflexible, to me.
Motivation is too much of a short lived rush, to me.
Commitment means I will do it.
Just my interpretation.
Cheers, h.
I like commitment too
Ha, and it makes me think of a mental institute. It's always funny how people view words differently...0 -
To be commited and carry it through you have to be motivated though.
Yup, but once you've set your goal, you no longer have to expend as much mental / emotional energy deciding whether it is worth the effort, worth more than not pursuing it. That larger goal becomes a general orientation / framework and not so much a moment to moment choice, and you build up routines under it.
I am not "motivated" to brush my teeth twice a day, although I generally do want a healthy mouth - I rely on routines. (the brush and paste are by the sink, i've now done it too many times to count). In the same way, once you figure out what you need to be doing to support weight loss, you set up routines to carry out your weight loss goal - you have your shopping list, your meal plans, your gym, your program or class, your clothes and gym bag, and you just go.0 -
I'll just say that there's lots of people who are disciplined to go to the gym and workout. Lots of them look the same, year in and year out. Some are still overweight, but show up consistently.
To CHANGE for them will take some motivation.
Again, IMO it's a balance.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Yes. Sometimes I do things because I know I'll wish I had done it yesterday when tomorrow rolls around. I say no to things I don't want in my diet when offered because it's never as enjoyable as it can be made to sound and if I really wanted it I would have gone out and gotten it myself and planned it into my day. Someone brought in doughnuts the other day and I found I really didn't think them that appealing.0
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middlehaitch wrote: »I like commitment.
Discipline is harsh sounding and inflexible, to me.
Motivation is too much of a short lived rush, to me.
Commitment means I will do it.
Just my interpretation.
Cheers, h.
I like commitment too
Ha, and it makes me think of a mental institute. It's always funny how people view words differently...
whoops yeah i guess, lol0 -
middlehaitch wrote: »I like commitment.
Discipline is harsh sounding and inflexible, to me.
Motivation is too much of a short lived rush, to me.
Commitment means I will do it.
Just my interpretation.
Cheers, h.
Totally agree, this has been big for me as well. I laid out the goal I'm committed to (185 pounds target weight, losing at least 1.5 per week, minimizing as much muscle loss as possible). Then I set the methods I'm using to meet my goal and committed to those (workout 5 days a week for at least 45 minutes, PR on weights at least every 2 weeks so I'm pushing myself, log my food every day, stay within my calorie target and continue to grow my knowledge and tweak methods accordingly).
Because of these commitments my behavior has changed significantly, and as a result I'm on track to meet my overall goal averaging 2 lbs lost per week, with 28lbs lost so far (32 to go). It's been a game changer for me.0 -
Oops, never thought of committed like that.
Still, half mad suits me better than a cheerleader with pom-poms; motivated, or a school mistress switching a cane against my leg, discipline.
I like balance, that's Cirque du Soleil in a brilliant costume.
Don't you just love word images!
Cheers, h.0 -
Forget motivation and discipline. Habit is key.
I used motivation and self-talk to get myself down the tough mudder slide. I needed that for all of thirty seconds.
I needed discipline this afternoon to ramp up to running speed for three minutes.
What has kept me going the last few years is developing new habits.
If I tried to grimly motor through regardless of how I was feeling day after day, I'd be a mighty grim person by now.0 -
middlehaitch wrote: »999tigger, Yes, in general you do have to be motivated. But to me that is often a short lived thing.
One could say the same about dicipline too, you may need it to carry out the commitment.
My motivation and dicipline quite often go wildly astray, but my commitment to a goal usually only strays if the parameters have had to change.
They are all interwoven & interrelated.
I just like commitment, it suits me the best, especially as I can lose the other 2.
Cheers, h.
My point would be the underlying reason you do things is because you are motivated. Even on those nights you dont wnat to go to the gym if you ultimately go its becayse you have weighed things up and realise youd rather go than not. If you are not motivated you will not go. If people look at the definition of what motivation is then we wouldnt get all these threads playing on words whether its discipline, commitment, habit routine, willpower etc. You cannot be commited and unmotivated, on the surface you might not wnat to do soemthing and push through but the very fact you have pushed through is becayse you had enough motivation to do so.0 -
sheermomentum wrote: »
err no thats motivation. Look up the definition.0 -
middlehaitch wrote: »Oops, never thought of committed like that.
Still, half mad suits me better than a cheerleader with pom-poms; motivated, or a school mistress switching a cane against my leg, discipline.
I like balance, that's Cirque du Soleil in a brilliant costume.
I love that! And meeee too. I had nuns rap me on my knuckles (piano lessons) and head (math) with rulers. Or stand in the cold outside, in winter, with no coat, as punishment for lack of "discipline". I freaking hate that word. There are reasons people don't do things, or struggle with things, and it rarely has anything to do with laziness. People generally aren't lazy, they just are tuned in to one thing or another. Habits and routines are processes anyone can learn and implement. Commitment is an action. "Discipline" is seen as some kind of inner quality, having it is a permanent character trait (like "self-control" or "willpower"). I can't say enough times how much I hate it.
Sign me up for the circus 0 -
Discipline might save me. Motivation down the drain.0
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I didn't read all the responses but I read the main post and I will say your spot on. I have found that I had to retrain my brain what to crave, not letting it even think about cheating because that wasn't a option any more, I cut certain foods out completely, I used to eat and binge on pasta, it's filling, cheep and can be very delicious so I made a choice to go on a hunter gatherer diet eating all natural no processed foods, lol so pasta was out along with other stuff. Which helped me stay in control and now after a year and half, I am totally in control, I can sit in the same room right next to someone eating a large greasy loaded pizza and be offered some and easily say no, eat my meal and be satisfied. I was given homemade blackberry pie, a snickers bar and lots of cookies from a 90 year old man the last two days, not being rude accepted them and put them into my refrigerator so it all doesn't spoil until I can give them away lol but there not even a temptation, I can be hungry at home and the first thing that pops into my head to eat is honey smoked turkey from Oscar Meyer or a protein bar, all bad stuff is on the bottom of the list because I know I won't let myself have it so my body craves what it can eat not what it wants or wanted. It took a lot of discipline with some motivation to keep to my program and not give up. The urges to give up got less and less to the point now where there seldom something I deal with now, I find myself forgetting to eat more than forgetting to stop eating. And finally it's been 8 years or more since I was in a gym and I'm only 25 but managed to lose 111lbs over all while I gained 60lbs of muscle just by eating high protein low cal diet and working out around the house, push ups, sit ups, planking, stationary bike ext. it's not as much of a challenge as some people think, the biggest step is starting a life style change and not just a 10 week crash diet.0
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This is very true, when my motivtion is absent, I realise my discipline is still there and still go to the gym etc0
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“Decide in your heart of hearts what really excites and challenges you, and start moving your life in that direction. Every decision you make, from what you eat to what you do with your time tonight, turns you into who you are tomorrow, and the day after that. Look at who you want to be, and start sculpting yourself into that person. You may not get exactly where you thought you'd be, but you will be doing things that suit you in a profession you believe in. Don't let life randomly kick you into the adult you don't want to become.”
― Chris Hadfield
“If you start thinking that only your biggest and shiniest moments count, you're setting yourself up to feel like a failure most of the time.”
― Chris Hadfield, An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth
http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/1136925.Chris_Hadfield0 -
SethOrNone wrote: »Found this on the /loseit Reddit. Has me focusing on different things this time around.
"Don't rely on motivation for anything. It is fleeting and unreliable. Discipline, however, is unyielding. Force yourself to follow through. Things are going to come up in life that get in the way of your goals but that's no reason to let them stop you completely.
Can't do a whole run? Do half of one. Don't have time to go to the gym to lift? Do pushups. Any action is better than inaction. Don't like the food you need to eat to meet your goals? Tough *kitten*. A little discomfort is worth the change, and at the end of it you'll have a mind as tough as your body."
https://www.reddit.com/r/GetMotivated/comments/3h76yq/text_dont_rely_on_motivation_for_anything_it_is/
I agree with this! Whenever people talk about what motivates them, I feel lost and out of place. Not really sure what, if anything, motivates me. But I do know you've gotta have self discipline to make the right choices in eating and to push your *kitten* out of bed in the morning and hit the gym. That is an amazing thing I've gained through this, is self discipline.0 -
Thanks for the post. It has helped me these last 2 days to get my behind on task!0
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Isnt what keeps you disciplined and willing to push through becayse underneath it all you are motivated enough to do it? If you werent motivated at some level you wouldnt do it. This includes those moments when you dont feel like it but push through.0
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Oh heck 999tigger, I am getting close to being committed ( to the psych ward), trying to figure out which comes first, and which endures; motivation, discipline, decisiveness, commitment, habit.
It is now just how I live.0 -
Yep so true its taken me about a year to build my discipline for exercise. In the beginning i needed motivation to exercise and dont get me wrong... Its good to hear something motivational when going for a work out but I don't absolutely depend on it. I exercise because it's just what I do and I don't question whether or not I should. That decision has already been made.0
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And yet we all clicked the "motivation and support" link to get to this thread. Puzzling. Isn't discussing commitment, discipline, and habit a way to help keep us motivated? Why are we here if we aren't seeking motivation? Like many others who have commented, I need support to stay motivated to be disciplined. That's why I clicked the link. Some very interesting perspectives here! Thanks!0
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I agree with ninerbuff that it's a balance of both. Here, discipline is training which is expected to yield a specific results, i.e., weight loss, improved health, self-confidence, etc. Your motivation is driven by the successful outcome of the specific results. You have to admit when you lose five or ten pounds, you feel great. You are driven (motivated) to maintain the discipline to lose (accomplish) more.0
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