Client: "Michelle, how do you always stay so motivated to workout and eat well?"

Coach M: "I'm not always motivated to workout and eat well; I'm disciplined."

Think about this for a moment...

When you were a child, you were told to "brush your teeth". You may not have been motivated to brush your teeth, but you did it anyway. Now as an adult, you don't even have to think about it; you automatically brush your teeth (at least I hope so!). You're disciplined in the teeth brushing department of self-care. Living a healthy, active lifestyle and eating nutrient-dense food is no different. If you do it enough, despite your motivation to do so, you'll naturally develop the habit to repeat the behavior. 

See, motivation is a feeling. Our feelings change. So we can't rely on our emotions to drive our actions or sustain them.

In today's newsletter I want to clarify the difference between motivation and discipline and how each can help you achieve better results in fitness, health and life in general.

Let's first explore the differences between motivation and discipline as it relates to our topic here...

mo·​ti·​va·​tion 

[ˌmōdəˈvāSH(ə)n]

A temporary feeling, state or condition of wanting to act on or accomplish something.

dis·​ci·​pline 

[ˈdisəplən]

Behavioral conduct regardless of the emotional desire to execute it.

Consider this...

Something motivates or excites you to make a change, and in the early stages you are motivated to take on the task. At some point however, that motivation or excited "feeling" fades. This is where you have to tap into discipline to keep it going. Discipline helps push through the times when motivation is low.

Example: You wake up one morning and are all gung-ho and excited (motivated) to workout before work.

Motivation is a wonderful thing so when motivation is high, run with it, but do NOT depend on it to last. 

Example: You wake up one morning and the LAST thing you FEEL like doing is working out before work.

On these mornings you need to lean into discipline to ensure the behavior is carried out. HOW? Simple. Get into the habit of doing it anyway regardless of how you feel about it. Quiet that voice in your head that comes up with every excuse in the book why you're not going to exercise and just DO IT. Eventually working out (as in this example) will be as automatic as brushing your teeth, regardless of how you feel about doing it.

Motivation is what gets you started.

Discipline is what keeps you going.

So my question to you is this...

"Are you going to be a passive participant and wait for MOTIVATION to guide you, or are you going to actively build the DISCIPLINE to gain more control over your current situation?"

April Healthy

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