At the time of this writing, the month of June represents the end of the school year. The weather is nice, no schoolwork, more time with family, and more time to relax. While student-athletes do need their time to rest and recover from the school year, along with the season or seasons they had, there will be a time to get back to work. Here is the question: what gets them going? Is it motivation? Is it discipline? Is it a combination of both? I am here to not only break down the differences between motivation and discipline, but also give examples of what each looks like.

Motivation

Motivation is a feeling that we get when we want to do something. Motivation can be high, like at the beginning of a season after taking some time to rest, and it could also be low, like feeling tired and not wanting to put in work. For me, I use motivation by writing on my hands the names of people who are important to me. During a marathon, I sometimes wonder why I am doing this. I would then look at my hands and remember. The issue with relying on motivation is that it will not always be there when you need it. If you wait for the perfect conditions, it will lead to disappointment. Rarely anything in life will ever be perfect. Instead of waiting for things to be perfect, it can be time to be proactive and disciplined.

Discipline

            Discipline does not require perfect conditions. It means doing whatever is necessary even when you don’t have any motivation. Of course, being motivated to train will make things easier. But there will be times where training may be the last thing on your mind. For me, there are definitely times where my motivation was low. I would look at my shoes for a long time before I would put them on and run. What got me going? Every day is an opportunity to get faster and stronger. I know others are going to take advantage of it, what about me? That would be enough for me to get going. You may not necessarily need to do what I do, but just find something to make you get going.

Takeaways

• Motivation can be helpful, but it should not be something to solely rely on. Motivation will fade after a while.
• Discipline is what keeps us going. Even when we do not feel like doing anything, we use discipline.
• You do not need to rely on only one. You can use a combination of both to help.

Until next time.