Defeat the beast in your mind- conquer it, and take it’s glorius asset: discipline
Everyone talks about motivation, this magical thing that decides for us when we should or shouldn’t do something we know we have to. When someone says “I’m not motivated” to do something, that’s their way of finding an easy way out. There is this greater idea, called discipline, that can override any slump in our lives. There is a course that anyone can follow to trade the weak emotion of motivation for the great power of discipline.
Uncertainty
From my personal experience of once being overweight and out of shape, I can say that I felt the same way as anyone else who wanted to make a change but wasn’t motivated to make the change to get there. I had a goal in mind, but no plan. It was hard trying to figure out where to start, and what I had to do to maintain steady progress. That feeling of being unsure where to begin is the inital slump that everyone faces. But once you take one day to lock in your diet and start eating right, you’ll gradually find what works for you. There is no avoiding the initial slump, but there are ways to make it easier getting over it.
Just starting
Day one is the most important day because it shows that you are at least willing to dip your feet in the water to get a feel for what its going to take. The first day in the gym shows you are willing to show up at least once to start tackling your goal. However, this is usually driven by short-term motivation, likely by something you saw online or saw someone else do. If you see someone absolutely shredded online, your first gym session will happen because you want to be like them instantly. But progress doesn’t happen in just one day. That motivator, within just a few short days, will wear out. And your mind will be back where it was in the beginning. This is why you never rely on outside sources of motivation to fuel your plan.
Internal motivation
Internal motivation is a great way to kickstart your plan. It’s not discipline, but it is the starting point to build discipline. Start by indendifying your goal. If you want to lose weight, that’s the goal. But what makes you want to lose weight? Why do you want to seek change?
Ask yourself questions like: Is it the dream physique that I’ve always wanted? Or is it because I feel like I have to because of the people around me?
Only that first reason is an internal motivator. That reason comes from within, because it’s what you truly want. Yes, you want to lose weight, but why? To achieve the dream physique that you always wanted. This is a good internal motivator because its something that you can imagine and say “I want that.” If other people are making you feel like you have to lose weight, you aren’t going to want to do anything to get to that point because it isn’t what you truly want.
Therefore, the reason behind your goals is what should be in the back of your mind while you work out. This is what will make you crush that first slump.
Enter the beast
Now that you have your internal motivator identified, you know why you have to stick to your plan, and why you have to reach your goal. But over the long run, week in and week out, you have to be able to stick to it. This comes down to what you do within your workout sessions. No matter what, there will be a point where the mental and physical pain of what you’re doing will overwhelm your internal motivators. This is where the real discipline comes in. When those internal motivators can’t cheer you on loud enough in your own head because the thoughts of doubt sparked by physical and mental anguish yell louder. This is a place that everyone will visit several times during their journey to reach their goal. But the first time is always the most significant because its a whole new beast. There is a greater force in your head that needs to shut out every thought, and power through. There is no cheat code, or any motivation that can overcome this beast. It is simply a situation where you have to put your head down and turn into a machine, for an unspecified amount of time, until you overcome that training session or very hard period of time in your training.
Defeating the beast
The first sign of discipline is, for one thing, getting to that point, because it proves that you’ve been willing to show up day in and day out to find that beast. But what can truly overcome that beast is the countless times that you will show up for it. The first time, it can and will make you fail. Don’t expect to defeat the beast the very first time, because it’s strong. But it’s weakness is consistensy. If you continue to show up for it, the discipline that you build from that will be enough to shut down the beast, and you can claim that territory in your head as yours.
Holding your ground
Use this territory to your advantage, because once you’ve acquired the amount of discipline it takes to get there, you can be disciplined forever, becuase you proved to yourself that you can overcome anything. You won’t want to give it up, and you will stand your ground because you know everything it took to claim that territory. Once you become this disciplined, you’ve conquered the beast in your head, and you can have peace once and for all.
Result of discipline-your goal
Once you have discipline, it doesn’t end there. Discipline is about showing up day after day over a long period of time until you’ve accomplished your ultimate goal. If you didn’t reach your goal, what’s the point of building discipline?
The point is to reach your goal.
Post-goal
Once you reach your goal, you need to hold onto it. If your goal is to get a six pack, don’t just get it, lose all your discipline, and binge eat and stop working out, because that will make you lose it. Again, what was the point? You have to maintain it. But once you conquer that place in your mind if facing that beast, you won’t want to lose it. It may seem extremely difficult right now, but when you have that discipline, you’ll realize it’s an asset, and its value is greater than any temptation to steer you out of it.
Motivation = emotion, discipline = asset
That’s why getting started is the hardest part. Because you rely on motivation, which isn’t an asset. It’s strictly an emotion that can be acquired in one second and lost in the next. Discipline is an asset, and gains value in your head. You’ll never want to sell it. In the end, external motivators won’t stick around, internal motivators will always be there to get you started and support your discipline, but discipline, once acquired, will keep you going forever.