Screens, motivation and discipline.

Years ago, I saw a video by Train Like a Ballerina (Louisa Patterson, she’s amazing, guys go follow her). She wrote that there was a difference between motivation and discipline. Motivation is the spark, it’s the initial drive, the realisation yeah that’s what I want to do. It’s the I want song in the beginning of a musical. It’s that first page of your New Year’s notebook. It’s amazing. The world wouldn’t run without it.

BUT

It’s not enough. There are thousands of videos out there teaching people how to MOTIVATE THEMSELVES FOR SUCCESS (we love capital letters) and INSPIRE themselves. Which is great. But there are going to be days when we don’t feel motivated. We don’t feel inspired. Days when it’s raining, or January, or the elevator is broken and you have a cold. Those days are part of life. Discipline is how we move through them.

Unlike a good 80% of the world, I love my job, I’m good at it, it stimulates me and I look forward to coming into work every week. I really do. I finish the weekend and I’m like, that was fun, and yay now I can head back to work! 

But even I have days when I want to go back to bed. Days when I don’t want to answer emails, or walk to the Tube station.

And the way we get through those days is not necessarily motivation. It’s discipline. It’s showing up on the rainy days. It’s making a commitment to yourself that even on the days when you’d rather be in bed, you’re going to get through. 

Cause that’s discipline. It’s what we’re made of. And it’s what we need for success.

The thing about screens, and especially phones, is they’re both good and bad for discipline. I’ve seen both sides. That HIT interval timer on your phone? It’s great. There’s a little motivational voice that comes through your earphones and tells you to keep running. But the voice and the music, sometimes drown out the sound of the wind which has its own kind of music. And that YouTube stretching video? Well that’s great too. I love YouTube workouts. The problem is when you open your phone for the workout and end up spending your workout time watching dancers do calisthenics. It’s a double edged sword. 

So what to do if you really want to ensure you’ll keep showing up? And not get distracted by videos of friends doing handstands (which we love but if you’re watching someone else do handstands, it means you ain't doing your own wall reps).  

The secret is internal discipline. That internal clock that tells you when it’s time to start doing abs. That internal clock that starts to get antsy when the sun is well up but you haven’t yet done any of the things on your to-do list. And yes, internal discipline can be harder to locate and to listen to. But if you want to do anything that’s never been done before, it’s the internal discipline you need. Not the motivational guy in the HIT workout timer (no offense HIT guy). 

And if you want help finding that internal discipline, the balance in your life between screens and everything else? Well, hire a coach. I’ll keep you on track even on the rainy days. It’s what I’m here for. ;)