Ep. 13 - Motivation vs Discipline
The last couple weeks have been tough. The initial high from starting my own business has begun to wear off. It feels as though I'm sliding back into the valley. Although I still love it and I’m super proud of where we're at, the reality is it’s still work. A lot of work.
Entrepreneurship sounds sexy. It sounds like freedom, money, and dining out with friends seemingly every night. Basically, doing what you want when you want. You hear people say, "just take this week off, you work for yourself." Well, this is exactly why I’m not taking the week off, because I do work for myself. My skin is in the game. I eat what I kill, or something like that.
I’ve discussed this at length with a few mentors. I thought something may be wrong. Am I losing it? Did I lose my motivation? Do I still have that edge to succeed? The reality is that this is normal and healthy. Everyone goes through it; we just don’t see it plastered on their company website or social media sites. There’s a reason why entrepreneurship is considered a lonely path. There are no colleagues and peers to confide in. And the worst part is, you can’t bitch about the boss.
Entrepreneurship is about navigating the peaks and valleys. But guess what? The valleys are always longer, and the peaks are short-lived. The highs are short, and the lows are long. But that’s why I love it - it's hard, scrappy, and takes grit. The battles occur in the valleys and that's where antifragility is built.
So, with that being said, how do we combat this feeling? And where do we go from here? Two points on this.
- Motivation is fleeting
Motivation only lasts so long. Those webinars, meetings, and fancy company retreats don’t work. They’re not a long-term strategy. Employees and leaders come back feeling invigorated and motivated to implement all these new ideas, test new strategies, or maybe even start exercising in the morning. Whatever it may be. And what happens? It lasts maybe a week or two and that feeling is gone. That’s because motivation is not a long-term solution. Motivation is fleeting.
However, discipline is key to the long game. People look at discipline in different ways, some hate it and some love it. But I’m a firm believer that if you want to find any success in life (financial, mental, physical) discipline is a key ingredient. Work won’t always be fun. Exercising won’t always be enjoyable. Meditating may feel like a waste of time. But there is a power in doing it anyways. Much of my self-confidence is the result of showing up and doing things I don't want to do. It reinforces trust in myself.
2. Compassion
If you’re anything like me, then you’re likely extremely hard yourself. I hold myself to ridiculous standards, both personally and professionally. Finding “compassion” for myself makes me weary I may lose my edge. It makes me wonder whether I’ll lose my work ethic, and the drive that ultimately got me to where I am today. But this is bullshit. We can have compassion for ourselves and be successful. I’ve started having a little more compassion for myself over the last month and it’s been a blessing. Even if I'm having a bit of an off-day, I'll still celebrate the little wins. I focus on, and trust, The Process. Sometimes it's easy to forget how far we've come. Taking time to remember all the wins, failures, and hurdles navigated provides compassion. We're all human, and we must acknowledge that.
We must combine the two. Compassion and discipline can coincide with one another, they're not mutually exclusive. Don't rely on motivation, it will leave you just as quickly as it arrived.
Focus on discipline, do the things you promised yourself you'd do. And have a little grace, just because you work for yourself in some capacity doesn't mean you have to be excited to work every day.