“Motivation versus discipline in business: what is best?” One of my customers has asked this question me during a coaching session.
This question was interesting enough for me to post about it. Let’s go through both notions together.
Motivation versus discipline: what is motivation?
Motivation is the reason why you desire something. There are several types of motivation: the extrinsic motivation and the intrinsic motivation. An external person or situation causes the extrinsic motivation. Typical examples of extrinsic motivations are:
- the gain of something – like a pay rise if you achieve your KPI
- avoiding a unpleasant situation – like losing your life if you do not stop smoking
The extrinsic motivation is opposed to the intrinsic motivation. This can be defined as a motivation coming from ourselves.
Studies have proven that intrinsically motivated people have much higher probability of achieving their objectives. Whether it is in aspects related to business, health, sports, etc. Why? Because they would put in the necessary efforts and time to reach the objectives set by themselves.
These efforts will lead to certain habits, which bring us to the next point…
What about discipline?
On the other hand, there is discipline… Discipline provides you with results. Whether you like the results or not is another subject. The fact is: discipline ALWAYS results into something you can utilize.
If the results are not per your objectives, you can work on improving them. If the results are meeting your objectives, then it is cause for celebration, improvement and teaching.
Every day, I make a point of walking a distance of 7 kilometers. Each day. At the end of the week, I would achieve 49 kilometers of walking distance. By the end of the year, I would have achieved 52×49 = 2,548 kilometers.
Said that way, it might not mean anything. But if I point out that the distance between Dallas, TX and Los Angeles, CA is approximately 2,312 kilometers.
I would not enjoy walking from Dallas to Los Angeles in one go. But if I continue achieving my daily 7 kilometers walk, I would reach Los Angeles without even realizing I walked that much. That is how powerful discipline is. All you need to do is just frequently repeat.
Does that mean I am ALWAYS motivated to do so? Absolutely NOT. In fact, it is the contrary. However, I do not let the lack of motivation stop me from carrying on. This applies for everything. Even more in business management!
Motivation versus discipline in business: what verdict?
In general, motivation runs out quickly. If your work is based on your motivation, you may give up very quickly. Lack of motivation can be the cause of procrastination. Motivation is good, but not enough.
Running a business is not as smooth as a flowing river: there are ups and downs. Therefore, it is risky to run a business solely upon motivation. Otherwise, the lack of motivation might lead you to stop doing business. Over time, this is not sustainable.
In business, I recommend to be motivated, but even more disciplined. Because motivation gives you objectives, but results come with discipline! Discipline leads to good habits!
What about you? Motivation versus discipline in business: what would be your choice? Where are you standing right now? I’d love to read your thoughts in the comment section.
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