Preface:
7 years ago, as a high school senior trying to please others and herself through my physical appearance, I thought discipline signified power and perfection in diet and exercise, which I so badly wanted. 3 years ago, as a college junior wanting nothing to do with any sort of diet or the word itself, I thought discipline signified disordered eating and an unhealthy relationship with food and exercise. Now, I finally understand what discipline really means. (read more about my story here)
It’s not as “black and white” as I had thought, both when I was in high school and college, but from different perspectives. I understand what can lead people to believe both of these definitions of discipline - diet culture for one (power and perfection in achieving a certain body shape/size) and the strong intuitive eating and body positivity movement for the other (disordered eating and an unhealthy relationship with food and exercise). Neither of these are totally wrong. Discipline can certainly become a desire for power and perfection, in which case it would very likely lead to an unhealthy relationship with food exercise. Many, many people experience that, myself included.
However, discipline can be healthy. Discipline can advance you toward your fitness and nutrition goals without morphing into a restrictive diet and exercise plan… or worse.
You might be reading this and wondering why I need to point that out. It’s because I know a portion of people reading this have the same background that I do, and for some it may not be a background - it may be the current situation, in which case I recommend clicking away from this post. I need to recognize both viewpoints - those who have experienced disordered eating and those who have not.
It’s January, which means goal-setting is trendy and motivation is high. Most of us are setting goals this time of year, fitness- and nutrition-related or otherwise. This is great! Let’s use this high-energy motivation to get rolling, making a structured plan to progress towards our goals. However, we also need to think about how we will keep progressing in a couple months, when motivation has waned and the temptations to revert back to old unhealthy habits seem much stronger than they do now. That time will come - it’s inevitable because we’re human and we live in the real world - but that doesn’t mean we need to give in.
We need to develop discipline.
First, I want to point out that discipline does not mean extreme restriction. Here’s what’s different about discipline versus motivation. Motivation is external, meaning that most of the time, we need to find it and that takes a lot of energy. It’s like willpower - it’s a great kick-start fuel, but eventually, it runs out. Then what do we do?
Then, we rely on discipline.
Discipline is internal, meaning that by developing healthy and productive habits that progress us towards our goals, we will always have it within us.
Discipline is the act of implementing behaviors and creating healthy and productive habits that provide long-term support in achieving our goals when motivation is low. Improving discipline through behavior change and habit creation pays off later in the year. With discipline, we can still feel focused on our goals later in the year, and by this time, have already made and continue to make significant progress in our journeys to achieve the goals and resolutions we set in January.
Discipline is a habit, motivation is a feeling. Discipline is a long-term support system, motivation is a short-term tool. Both are helpful, but it’s important to recognize the purpose of each, and to cultivate healthy levels of both to support us through the journeys to achieving our goals.
How can we develop discipline?
Because discipline is internal, it’s individual. When thinking about ways to develop discipline, we need to think about our own goals and the habits we can create that will progress us towards achieving those goals. For example:
Goal: get to the gym 5 mornings a week.
Habits:
lay out your gym clothes the night before and have everything packed and ready to go.
get in bed by 10PM, without your phone or other devices.
invite a friend to come workout with you a few days to promote accountability and make the workouts more fun.
Goal: reduce consumption of processed sugar.
Habits:
don’t keep treats made with processed sugar in the house.
replace those with snacks and desserts made with dates, so that you can still satisfy your sweet tooth and prevent feelings of restriction and deprivation.
balance each meal with lean protein, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats so that you feel full and can limit other cravings.
Notice how each of these habits are specific and sustainable - specific so that we can monitor them and hold ourselves accountable, and sustainable so that we can continue them year-round and for years to come.
Discipline is a habit, motivation is a feeling. Discipline is a long-term support system, motivation is a short-term tool.
Both are helpful, but it’s important to recognize the purpose of each, and to cultivate healthy levels of both to support us through the journeys to achieving our goals.
