Motivation and discipline, both are required when it comes to achieving any goal in your life, from a small change in routine to an important task at work, each goal is fulfilled when an individual feels enough motivation and has sufficient discipline to be able to complete all the steps and reach a certain level of accomplishment. As they are connected they are often misinterpreted as similar factors, however, there are some key differences in both. In the following article we will be discussing the differences between motivation and discipline to help you understand how to keep yourself motivated and maintain the discipline to reach all your goals.
Motivation is defined as a driving force, an internal stimulation that moves individuals towards actions to accomplish something. Motivation is the “why,” the reason behind an action, it can be both internal and external. Intrinsic motivation is referred to as the inspiration that is subjective in nature and is intangible, when you are doing something for the reward of the pleasure, enjoyment and challenge that you experience it is the intrinsic motivation that is moving you rather than the external rewards. For instance, if you like to paint, draw, run, workout, jog just because you enjoy it, it is the internal motivators that are important and make you do all these things.
Extrinsic motivation is the driving force that motivates individuals towards action when there are some tangible rewards involved, incentives such as getting bonuses, good scores, scholarships, praise etc. For example, if you are working overtime for a monthly or yearly bonus to get a good performance evaluation you are motivated extrinsically. You can also have both motivators for a same task such as painting can have external motives such as money and internal motives such as relaxation and feeling good.
Discipline on the other hand is defined as having a sense of regulation and control over ones actions in order to achieve a specific goal. Discipline can also come from the external sources such as rules and regulations from the society and from self control referred to as self discipline. It encompasses the “what,” the journey that is necessary for a task completion. Without discipline, no amount of motivation alone can help you succeed as it is equally important to channel that driving energy and force into doable steps that take you closer towards your goal each day. That is the role discipline plays, it helps you keep track of yourself, come up with an action plan and makes sure you are persistent in the process. The key difference lies in the influence and effect of both motivation and discipline. They both go hand in hand, you can consider motivation to be the spark that burns and discipline as the oxygen required to keep the fire burning. The progress that we achieve with being disciplined, motivated us further pushes us forward. If you want to be an entrepreneur and you have some amazing ideas that you want to base your business now, motivation will be the driving force that has led you to think of this business venture and it can be a sense of achievement, money, fame etc and discipline will be the entire process of dos and don’ts that you will follow to regulate your behaviors in order to turn your ideas into a tangible reality. The progress you will make with this self-discipline will act as a motivator itself and fuel your motivation, give you energy to make bigger plans and implement them.
If you are looking for ways to accomplish a goal and are not sure where to start, sit down with yourself and ask yourself what’s the motivation behind the thing you are about to do, it reminds you of they why and gives you a sense of purpose. After you have extracted the reasons of why, you start to jot down the steps that will be necessary to help you achieve that goal, with self-discipline and determination you will be able to stay consistent in your efforts and achieve the milestones in the expected amount of time. Lastly, it is also important to know not everything is a hard and fast rule, find your motivators and your own ways maintaining of self-discipline and keep working towards your dream life.
References
