WHY DISCIPLINE BEATS MOTIVATION EVERY TIME

What's up Titans! It's a chilly fall day here in the suburbs of Chicago, and I just wanted to go on a little rant/shpeal on why it is IMPERATIVE to your fitness success to rely on discipline instead of motivation. The idea for this post came to me when one of my good friends asked me to be her gym buddy, explaining that she needed the motivation to go workout. It was a nice offer, but I declined. Not only because I'm usually busy, but because motivation is FICKLE, and it would be time wasted for me if she fell off the wagon as soon as I stopped going with her.

Don't get me wrong, having a gym partner can be a wonderful thing, and I even offer discounts on my packages for bringing one, but the whole aspect of requiring motivation from an EXTERNAL source is shaky at best. You could be totally pumped to work out on Monday but what about Tuesday? Wednesday? Can you really rely on yourself to be MOTIVATED every day you need to go workout? I won't lie to you, the answer is NO! Some days you're a little more tired than usual. Other days you just feel like lounging around. There are so many variables that can interfere with the motivation to exercise, and these are things that EVERYONE experiences. That's the bad news - that you most likely will not be super driven and excited to go workout every day you need to. BUT the good news is that there is a better option out there. And it is probably my favorite D word; DISCIPLINE.

What is discipline? Let me first start by telling you what it is NOT. DISCIPLINE IS NOT FICKLE. It is a constant that you can rely on day in and day out. Second, DISCIPLINE IS NOT EASY. If it were, everyone would be doing it, and you have my word on that. There is a reason athletes, holders of graduate degrees, and other professionals are people that are looked up to. They have accomplished what requires an enormous amount of discipline! And clearly not everyone is a doctor, athlete etc.

Now, although discipline is not easy, it is also NOT IMPOSSIBLE! Anybody CAN become disciplined if they want to! (In a separate post I will write out some tips and tricks to help get the discipline ball rolling). Like I always say, the more you put into something, the more you are going to get out of it.

Onto the coup de gras! What IS discipline? Discipline IS what will get you into the gym on the rainy days. Discipline IS what will make the choice between water and soda a no-brainer! DISCIPLINE.IS.THE.KEY.TO.SUCCESS. In my 80/20 article, I mentioned how consistency was necessary to implementing the 20% of the fitness principles that get you 80% of the results! Well surprise surprise, discipline is the driving force behind consistency. It's all related, and it is all a part of a fitness lifestyle.

So, the next time you're debating whether or not you should go to the gym, just remember this quote by Lao Tzu;