I've come to realize over the years that motivation is bullshit! It is never there for you when you need it. It is never there when you have a daunting task that you have to complete or if you've had a late night out. Motivation isn't there when you are tired or cold or sick or having a bad day. Even when I'm excited to do something, I'm not excited to do the tasks leading up to that event. So what does motivation get you? Nothing! except disappointment.
Discipline on the other hand, may sometimes feel like your worst enemy. Your find yourself doing the things you don't want to do because you know it is the road that gets you where you want to go. For example, I absolutely hate working out! It is the one thing in my morning schedule that I do not look forward to, but you know what I do? I work out.
I work out because I know that my body needs it to perform at maximum output every day. I work out because it makes my brain work faster and more efficiently. I work out because it helps with my emotions and because it makes me feel accomplished first thing in the morning. But most of all, I work out because I HATE feeling weak more than I hate working out! And that is discipline my friends; showing up even when you don't want to, because you know it has to be done!
I have been my own boss for nearly a decade now and motivation is definitely not a word I would use to describe dragging my ass to work day in and day out. It's discipline. Don't get me wrong I love growing cannabis, it just really isn't all that much "fun." People think it is all about getting high and partying if you grow cannabis, but that couldn't be farther from the truth! It is actually incredibly hard work and is extremely easy to get discouraged so you need an insane amount of discipline to show up day after day, week after week, month after month and year after year. It takes discipline to show up to work on those days when I was sick or tired or if I just had nothing in me. It took discipline to keep me focused on my work because I have only myself to blame if something goes wrong or if a task goes uncompleted. None of these things would've gotten accomplished if I depended on motivation, because it just isn't ever there like that.
I have been lucky to always had a fair amount of discipline, my parents did a good job instilling those types of values in me since I was a young child. They truly gave me a great tool set for life. Because of this the military was also rather easy for me. I had no problem following orders, or doing shitty tasks that I didn't want to do because I knew it was just a temporary period in my life and with these experiences I would grow, so I never complained about anything. That is discipline my friends, because let me tell you life can absolutely suck while in the military! But because I was disciplined and never complained I moved up the ranks fast. After that I was in charge and life sucked a whole lot less!
A lot of good in my life has come because of self discipline, not motivation. Stop waiting for motivation to show up because even if it does come around it usually doesn't last long. Stop making excuses and do that task you have been putting off for a while. Start small, everyday take 15-30 mins to do things you have been waiting "to have the motivation to do." You will find that every day those task become a little easier, until one day you are doing it for hours without even realizing. It may be working out, or cleaning, working on that hobby you never seem to have time for, or writing a blog or whatever it is you have been putting off that may improve your life in some small way. Each little accomplishment feels great and leads to another, after a while you will feel like something is missing if you don't take the time every day to do this task. And that my friends is how discipline is learned.
Peace, love and all that hippie shit
