Motivation doesn’t work — But I know something that does!
Ever felt pumped up with energy and the will to do great things? Feeling like the world is yours and you can conquer it right away? But it’s Sunday, 11 PM, and tomorrow is a new week, which, of course, you will conquer with your newly-found motivation! But then you go to sleep, after setting up your alarm for 6 AM, so you can have time to be productive in the morning. You go to sleep. And when that alarm clock starts ringing, you hit it and kill it faster than an eagle lunging for its prey!
This may be a story that many of us have experienced, getting pumped up with motivation, just to have it horribly slayed in under 24 hours. But motivation doesn’t get things done, and motivation alone won’t change our life.
But there is something that works. Something that helped get things done since ancient times and until today. Something that all the military organizations in the world use, some better than others.
Come on, you are a smart person if you are still reading this article. You know what I am talking about — it should be obvious. What you need to get things done is discipline.
But discipline alone will only take you part of the way. You need 2 more things to be successful, besides discipline… you need consistency and strategic planning.
All of these 3 are used by all of the armies in the world. And the more efficient an army is in maximizing them, the more powerful it is.
In the same manner, you too can become more powerful. You too can grow and absolutely murder your life goals with high efficiency.
Motivation may get you started, but this trio will keep you going. But they will do so if and only if you know how to master them… because each is a skill like any other — and you need to learn them!
Mastering Discipline and Consistency
A simple definition of discipline is to do hard, or even ordinary things, when you have no motivation. Consistency, which is closely related to discipline, is doing those things constantly through time. Because, as I said, motivation alone will get you going, but it won’t keep you moving!
Only by applying discipline in your life, you can get things done! And the good news is that even if you have no discipline, and have never had experience with discipline in your life, you can still learn it!
The best way to master discipline, in my opinion, is to constantly introduce discomfort into your life. And I don’t mean you should put sand into your underwear or anything of the sort.
What I mean is that you should do, every day (and even more often), something that is uncomfortable and that you don’t necessarily have to do on a daily basis. So not something uncomfortable that is part of your have-to-do routine.
What you should do is add something uncomfortable and productive into your schedule — 1 thing at a time.
This could be:
- Waking up earlier, like 6 AM every morning, if you are usually waking up late.
- Taking cold showers in the morning.
- Doing some cardio in the morning.
- Reading a book in the evening, instead of gaming or watching movies; or even better, reading a book 1 hour before going to bed (as it helps you get better sleep).
- Making yourself food for work, so that you don’t have to buy an expensive meal (saving money).
This list could go on, but you get the message. Do something that requires extra effort on your part, but is beneficial for you.
But do only one thing constantly!
If you do one thing today, and another tomorrow, you will not learn discipline and consistency! It’s extremely important that you add only 1 new habit to your schedule, that you never, ever skip!
Once you have repeated that uncomfortable but beneficial habit for 2–3 months, you can start adding the second one. Then, do both those habits for another 2–3 months!
This way you will add discipline and consistency into your life — and discipline and consistency, too, will become a habit for you!
You will then be able to apply it to everything you do, no matter if it’s personal or professional.
Strategical planning
Another habit that I would highly recommend you learn and practice every day is to plan ahead. Even if God likes to laugh at our plans, it’s better to have a plan rather than jump ahead without one!
You can start with the simplest planning (but also the most efficient) — planning your day, the evening before.
I have no words to describe how helpful this can be. If there is a single thing you should take from this article, is to play your day.
This will skyrocket your productivity like nothing else. Because by planning your day and sticking, the best you can, to that plan, will ensure that you will get things done. Of course, discipline and consistency will also play a significant role.
But planning, discipline, and consistency go hand in hand. Each one complements the other and improves it.
A simple way to plan your day is to split it up into hours, from the moment you wake up until the moment you go to sleep.
Let me give you an example:
- 7 AM Wake up; go wash your face, put water on the stove for coffee, and do some stretching exercises while it boils (preferably away from the hot water!)
- From 7 AM to 8 AM eat breakfast, drink coffee, and meditate for 15 minutes.
- From 8 AM to 8:30 get ready for work.
- 9–18:30 work and transit.
- 19–20 Shower, dinner and relax.
- 20–21 Write an article on Medium.
- 21–22 spend time with spouse (hehehe).
- 22–23 Read a book. Then sleep.
This is a very simple way to plan your day. On weekends, or for freelancers like me, the planning may be more complicated. Especially when working with multiple clients and having to balance work and life.
But this is nevertheless, an extremely good habit to adopt into your life. One I highly recommend.
And while things may happen that will deviate you from the plan you built, try to stick to it as much as possible under the circumstances. And you will see that it will change your life!
Final Words
Hopefully, you learned something that will help you on the road ahead, from my article. I was, for a long time, very into motivational speeches and motivational stuff. But I realized, in my own skin, that motivation cannot get things done. It’s only through consistency, discipline, and hard work that you can achieve what you want. Motivation will spark the rocket, but the fuel for the rocket is discipline, and the reservoir is consistency.
And, if you also add a bit of planning, you will go to any place you want in the universe. So, armed with this knowledge, go and conquer yourself, your mind, and your actions!