When it comes, motivation feels like a very strong power. It gives you a feeling of delight, expectation, and the conviction that change will be a matter of a few steps. Days when you are motivated you make it sound like you are going to achieve great things, see a better version of yourself, and vow that this time it will be different. However, motivation is of emotional nature, and emotions are inherently unstable. They come up when life is full of inspiration and go away when it is difficult, boring, or uncomfortable. That is the reason why motivation alone hardly ever results in making changes that last. The very moment that stress, tiredness, or self, doubt comes to the scene, motivation disappears, and progress is halted. Discipline, however, is not affected by mood. Discipline is the decision to carry out an action even when you are emotionally tired, doubtful, or not interested. In comparison with motivation, discipline is much quieter but it is more reliable. Motivation, as an example, may provide you with an extremely powerful beginning, however, it is discipline that takes you along the way when your enthusiasm is gone.
Long term success is established through repeated actions rather than through an emotional feeling. Discipline is effective because it takes away the need for making decisions from the process. If you use discipline, you no longer need to ask yourself if you feel like working; you just do the work that you have already planned. This lowers mental resistance and saves energy. Discipline develops through small, consistent, and intentional actions studying for a certain time every day, exercising even if you are not feeling comfortable, or choosing progress rather than comfort. After a while, these actions become your identity. You cease viewing yourself as someone who continually tries and fails and instead start viewing yourself as someone who is always there. Motivation can be the cause of a change, however, it is discipline that keeps it going. Motivation utters, "Lets do everything today.” Discipline says, "Let’s do what is important today." That difference is what makes discipline sustainable in the long run.
What really works in the long run is not the choice of discipline over motivation, but the use of motivation to create discipline. Motivation could be the one that helps you to start a habit, but it is discipline that has to take the lead to keep it going. Most successful people are not the ones who wait to be inspired. They make systems that help them to take action even when it is hard. They focus on habits instead of outcomes, work instead of perfection. It is more manageable to control oneself if it is an integral part of your identity, when you think, I am a person who does what he has promised, rather than I am a person who waits for the right moment. After a while, discipline becomes a source of self, assurance, as every time you accomplish something, you deepen your trust in yourself. You no longer depend on sudden inspiration; you depend on consistency. At the very end, it is probably motivation that lets you in, but it is discipline that keeps you coming, day after day, until the real change happens.
