Motivation vs. Discipline: Why You Need Both to Succeed
Discipline and motivation are both key ingredients for achieving many kinds of goals. Whether you’re looking to lose weight, get fitter, earn that promotion, or learn an instrument, these two factors play a vital role.
To harness them effectively, it’s helpful to compare motivation and discipline and understand how they can complement each other.
Read on to learn about:
Definitions of motivation and discipline
How discipline and motivation interact
Techniques to harness both motivation and discipline to smash your goals
Discipline vs. Motivation: What Are They?
To understand how you can use discipline and motivation to achieve your goals, it’s first helpful to define what we’re talking about.
Overview of Motivation
Essentially, motivation is what drives us. It’s the why—the reason you’re pursuing an activity or working towards a goal.
Say your goal is to run in a 10k race. You could have several, interrelated motivations:
You want to raise money for a charity
You want to improve your overall health
You want to take up a new hobby
You have a friend who’s always nagging you to come running
Motivations are generally divided into two categories:
Extrinsic Motivation
This type of motivation comes from external sources, such as:
Rewards: Paychecks, prize money, good grades
Social: Recognition from others, ‘likes’ on Instagram, parental praise—or even peer pressure
Competition: The drive to outperform others in events or exams
Intrinsic Motivation
This type of motivation comes from within, such as:
Enjoyment: Pleasure in activities like cooking, playing sports, or solving puzzles
Satisfaction: The sense of achievement from doing something well
Curiosity: Interest in learning or practising something new
Most people and goals involve a mix of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. For example, a professional footballer likely loves the game and takes pride in their skills (intrinsic motivation). But external factors like high salaries, inspiring pep talks, and winning trophies (extrinsic motivation) also play a role.
Why You Can’t Rely Solely on Motivation
Motivation is undeniably important, but it’s not enough on its own. The problem with motivation is that it can be fleeting and unreliable. Many people experience an initial burst of enthusiasm—like joining a gym in January or learning a language before a holiday—but struggle to maintain it once the excitement wears off.
Further reading: What is holistic fitness?
Overview of Discipline
When it comes to personal goals, discipline is a form of self-control where you continue to do something. It’s the ability to stay consistent, even when the task becomes difficult or when external pressures are absent. A disciplined person develops habits that ensure regular progress—even on days they don’t feel particularly motivated.
Examples of discipline could include:
Sticking to your running plan, even when it’s rainy and cold
Resisting the temptation to eat cakes or biscuits at the office
Practising a musical instrument daily
Overcoming procrastination at work
Why You Can’t Rely Solely on Discipline
Relying too heavily on discipline over motivation can lead to stress, burnout, and unhappiness. Pushing yourself too hard may even result in health issues. For example, continuing to train despite an injury can worsen the problem.
The Close Relationship Between Discipline and Motivation
When weighing up your motivation vs. discipline, it’s useful to think of them as having a symbiotic relationship. When you can harness the two together, they create a kind of positive feedback loop, leading to better results in the long term.
A study with over 900 Spanish school children looked at performance in physical education classes. The results showed that when the kids were intrinsically motivated, they tended to have greater discipline when playing sports.
In a different study in Norway, a researcher interviewed elite athletes about discipline vs. motivation. One of the most interesting findings was about how discipline and motivation were affected by time scales:
Short-term goals (up to 5 weeks): Discipline often outweighs motivation.
Long-term goals (10+ weeks): Motivation becomes critical for sustaining discipline.
The takeaway? Both motivation and discipline are necessary for achieving your goals. If you lack one, it becomes much harder to succeed.
Techniques to Harness Discipline and Motivation
There are several techniques you can use to harness both discipline and motivation.
Finding your motivation
1. Create Lists
Write down all the reasons for pursuing your goal, both intrinsic and extrinsic.
Example: Someone training for a 10k
Get fitter and feel better
Enjoy running
Reduce risk of chronic diseases
Raise money for charity
2. Develop a Motivation Statement
Summarise your reasons into a concise mantra.
Example: “I run for fun, for health, and to help.”
3. Keep Your Reasons Visible
Post reminders of your motivations in a place you’ll see them regularly.
4. Celebrate Milestones
Recognise and reward your progress along the way.
Example: After completing a 5k, treat yourself to new running socks.
Inspiration: 10 of the best motivational movies
Building Discipline
There are several techniques you can use to develop discipline. Again, we’ll use our example of someone training for a charity 10k.
1. Establish Routines
Set aside a specific time when you will perform your task, and stick to it. The longer you carry on, the more likely it will turn into a habit.
Example: Train every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Sunday.
2. Create a Long-Term Plan
Similar to the previous point, it can be really useful to create a long term plan, specifying when you’ll do your activity.
Example of someone training for a 10k: Our runner develops a 10 week training plan, where they gradually increase the number of kilometres covered each week.
3. Resist Temptations
This might sound a bit severe, but internal discipline does require working against the natural human desire to feel comfortable and preserve energy. Discipline is about trying to change habits and mindsets, and giving yourself ‘pep talks’ to keep going. It’s developing the willpower to overcome comfort-seeking habits.
Example of someone training for a 10k: It’s raining out, and going for a training run seems pretty unappealing. Nevertheless, our runner reminds themselves why they’re doing the training, and pulls their running shoes on anyway.
Bonus tip: Work with Others
If you’re struggling with motivation and discipline, you might find it helpful to work with others.
A coach can help you find your motivations, and will also push you to be more disciplined.
Joining a club adds a social element to most kinds of activity (from getting fit to learning a language), and doing an activity with others can spur you on.
Attending classes, with an instructor, can also be a great way of pushing you to do more (particularly when it comes to fitness).
Use Discipline and Motivation to Succeed
Balancing discipline and motivation is key to achieving your goals. When used together, they create a virtuous cycle that increases your chances of success.
So, how will you harness both to achieve your goals?
