Motivation or Discipline: my best tool to stay healthy

To start a fitness life or, better yet, to stay well-being, motivation and healthy discipline go hand in hand.

Whether you want to get JLo's body, drop a couple of sizes and several pounds, or just feel better, you need to have something to get you started.

But what will allow you to stay motivated along the way and keep fighting until you achieve it is discipline .

Motivation vs. discipline, how are they different? How can they help us get started and get what we want? Keep reading and I will tell you what I have learned in my process of change.

The motivation

Motivation is that drive we have to start something and take the first steps towards a goal. It is what determines what we really want and moves us to achieve it.

When you decide to make a plan, whether it's to get married, organize a party, your next vacation or achieve the physical and mental change you want to make in your life, you should set goals for a certain time. 3 months, 1 year or 2 weeks. Up to you.

If your goals are consistent with your way of being, your values ​​and ideas, they will become the best motivation engine for your day to day. For this reason, when you define yours, ask yourself: are these goals realistic? Will I be able to achieve them within that period?

After that, everything will depend on how much you commit to your dream. Because in a transformation process sometimes you suffer and you have to make sacrifices; but when you get what you want, the personal satisfaction is wonderful. There is nothing in this world that makes us happier than achieving our personal goals!

Fighting for yourself is the best prize you can have. It is very satisfying to know that you can achieve everything you set your mind to just by thinking about it and working on it.

I invite you to read this post on our blog in case you need a motivational boost " Lack of motivation? Get it on 20 Instagram accounts "

The discipline

But like everything, motivation comes to a certain point. And it can happen that, from one week to another, you stopped losing weight or your measurements did not change; then you get frustrated and say this is it!

Before giving up, I invite you to think, after all the pain and sacrifice you have made, is this coming to an end? Why stop without achieving what you wanted and motivated you to start?

This is where healthy discipline comes into play, which is the ability we have to force ourselves, in one way or another, to maintain a behavior until we achieve what we planned.

Being disciplined is a gift that not all of us have. We can be disciplined in certain aspects of life, but find it difficult (sometimes even impossible) to discipline ourselves in other areas.

Or is it not easier for you to discipline your child to follow certain standards implemented by yourself, than to stop eating a delicious chocolate cake?

Discipline is too important to lead a healthy lifestyle. You can go off a diet one day, skip a workout, or spend a night out celebrating with friends; none of that has to be a problem. But it will be if you continue with that bad habit and not return to your healthy routines.

You don't negotiate with discipline, you just do it or you don't. I assure you that to reach your goal, you need self-control and a lot of focus. You must be clear about why you started and always remember that, when you finish, you will be a better person, physically and mentally.

Internal and external changes are not achieved overnight. While the motive will drive you to start, what will get you to the end will be your self-discipline.

It happened to me. And thanks to the discipline I was able to focus daily on exercise, nutrition and work. Then I'll tell you how I did it.

Motivation vs. discipline : what was my best tool

My motivation to start my healthy life was the quarantine. I didn't know how long I was going to stay locked up in the 4 walls of my house. Nor how was I going to adjust to this new reality.

I had to not only exercise to keep my madness under control, but also burn off that negative energy that confinement produced in me. Imagining the mental and physical changes I would get pushed me to keep going.

But beyond that motivation, the key to continue on my path was to be disciplined.

I had all the time in the world to plan my meals, I set myself schedules to exercise, work, cook, and organize my house.

How did I continue with my healthy lifestyle, when I returned to the office? I planned, I organized myself and I began to advance what I needed for the next day the day before. Thus, I was able to continue my healthy eating and make time to exercise.

If you would like to read my story, check out my previous post " My experience: the path to a healthy life "

a final message

Motivation comes from the same desire we have to achieve something, but it doesn't last forever, no matter how much you want it. It is a temporary effect created by the mind to push us in the right direction.

Therefore, never rely only on motivation, since discipline is what will take you to the goal faster. And it is that discipline has the ability to constantly push you in the right direction, when the motivation has disappeared.

So... go ahead, fight for your goal and discipline your process. This is how you will achieve part of your success.