Discipline, Motivation & the Cliches of the Goggins-sphere.

I recently started a business Instagram account and only follow a handful of people. As such, all the posts in my feed are from accounts I don’t know, many of which are fitness motivation accounts. The one piece of wisdom that comes up time and time again is the idea that you shouldn’t wait around for motivation before you exercise (or work, or do anything that has long term benefits), and that you should just have discipline instead. At this point, it’s a pretty lazy cliché that gets thrown around the Goggins-sphere, and on one hand I see the point, but on the other, it is deeply unhelpful.

The problem with this idea is that it completely misunderstands what motivation is. In many cases, motivation is confused with inspiration, which is a feeling of stimulation, strong feelings, or readiness to act. However, motivation isn’t necessarily any of these things. Motivation is simply a reason to do something. This is why motivational speaking is such bullshit. Can you stand up in front of a group of financial executives and giving them a reason to work hard? Probably not. Can you stimulate them, and evoke strong feelings to get them ready to work hard? I’d argue this was much more likely. So in this case you could probably call yourself an inspirational speaker, but it would sound even more vile and pretentious.

So, firstly we need to get over the idea that you’re either motivated or not. Motivation is not binary, and rather than being a singular feeling, it is more like a network of interrelated psychological processes. There are different shades and types of motivation, some more sustainable than others. You might be motivated to train because you want to be stronger, or you don’t like the way you look, or because it’s your job, or part of your identity. Furthermore, most of us we train for a variety of different reasons that may complement or contradict each other. The key is to recognise our own motivations and think how sustainable they will be over time. Rewards, for example are great in the short term, but are likely to undermine our intrinsic motivation. That is, once they are taken away, we are less likely to engage in that behaviour just for the sake of it. The purest, most sustainable motivation is simply enjoyment.

Now, discipline is just the ability to follow a set of rules, which is important because that's just how life is. Some rules are externally imposed by work, the government, or society as a whole. We also impose rules on ourselves to aid with our health, relationships, careers etc. If our behaviour is guided by the pure, intrinsic motivation of doing something because we love it, discipline doesn’t need to be a factor. I love going to the gym, and as such I don’t need discipline to be there, and all the junior jocko influencer types telling you they train because they are disciplined are the same. Chances are, they go to the gym because they love it, and because they have internalised the positive effects of training, which takes time. If somebody is new to exercising, and doesn’t like the gym, they would be best advised to find a way to exercise that they can find some enjoyment in. Do you like spending time with someone who also wants to exercise? Do something with them. Do you like being outdoors? Do something there. Focus on some of these things and over time, you will start to internalise the positive effects of that exercise and begin to explore other routes.

So, next time someone talks about discipline, or motivation on instagram but doesn’t seem to know what either means, unfollow them and follow me instead @chrisgunnpsych.

Disclaimer: I like Jocko Willink. I think he provides genuine wisdom and insight. I also like David Goggins, because I also think he has unique insight, but mainly because I find him funny and often on a long run, I talk to myself in a David Goggins voice to amuse myself. It’s the industry of social media work-hard-and-grind dullards they have inspired who I like less.