Inspiration Motivation Discipline | All of it

Inspiration, motivation, and discipline are mostly compared with each other which is better. But, we can use all three to be successful.

Inspiration kicks us off. Motivation keeps us going. Discipline drives results. Simple as that. The thing is, without anything that inspires us, we fail to start. Without extrinsic factors to motivate us, we stop. And discipline takes a lot of energy to do. All of these three together are taken separately but for our benefit, we could probably harness all of it to thrive in life.

We all await for inspiration to come. Some of us look for it consciously while some may just experience an epitome that kick-starts something within us. It comes from different sources, may it be one or a collective effect of experiences. Whatever that may be, it is a starting point when we realize something great that we decide to pursue it.

The absence of it may keep us stagnant in where we are which makes us wonder about the meaning of life. We lose the sense of fulfillment as we go about our regular day doing the same old things without seeing the end of it.

Though once we have been inspired, the next question is how to keep going. This is where motivation comes in. It becomes the pushing or pulling force that drives us. It could be intrinsic or extrinsic. This a debatable argument as it is said that motivation should be intrinsic. It must be your why. Although, I would say that in the world we live in, we have to accept that we are always driven by external value. What we could tangibly experience.

These two would not be enough to gain the desired results. We need discipline. Simply put, a habit that we strictly follow and do. A routine. Miss a day, we will be okay. Miss two days in a row, we are at risk. Miss three days, then we need to do something else.

Discipline keeps us moving without seeing any immediate results. The reward and the benefit would not be visible after doing the work. The impact could happen a day after, a week, a month, or even years. This makes it harder to be disciplined. However, once we harness this, it is very beneficial in the long run. It will help us achieve what we were inspired to do.

So, how could we harness these three? Let alone, how could we start? Can we combine all three to thrive in any aspect in our lives? Or, we need to use it separately?

Here is what I think…

How do we get inspired

We all know inspiration comes when we least expect it. When we try to find it, it eludes us. It is something we can not force. It is not within our control. Though, we can do something about it. As inspiration is a culmination of various experiences, the way to get inspired is get exposed.

• Exposure. Experiencing different things will create new nerve connections in our brains. As our brain tries and effectively connect each experience that we have, it will eventually provide an idea that we will realize we have not thought of before. So, simply put, learning new things, being exposed to other things especially those that we have not tried before will possibly light up that bulb in our head. We then may say that one experience may have inspired us but, it is actually a culmination of experiences.

How to get motivated

Our reasons. Our whys. Our goals. It has been said that this is what keeps us motivated. Knowing why we do things, and our purpose for doing such is the only motivation that we need. While there are extrinsic motivations that exist such as appreciation and monetary benefits, this could prove to be only temporary. The only motivation that we need is the why.

• Why. Being inspired is one thing. Being motivated is another. Motivation keeps us going to achieve what we set out to do. The powerful force behind it is our why. When we are inspired to do something without knowing the why behind it, we will not be able to continue. Knowing our reasons could make us move forward. Our reasons could be short term, or shallow, or long-term, or deep. What I meant here is that we can all decide our whys. We should not judge anyone of their own purpose. It is up to us what we consider as our reason for doing such things. Oftentimes times we force people to look deeper inside themselves to come up with a deeper why but rarely this works. We are all human and our desire to survive is dependent on how we see our world. Each other’s why is different from one another.

How to stay disciplined

The energy to keep moving. The power to be resilient. The desire to achieve our goals. All of these will not be possible without inspiration and motivation. Most people get inspired and stop in the middle. A lot of us get motivated and stop when we do not see immediate results. These prevent us from accomplishing what we set out to do. Only discipline can take us where we want to be.

• Take us. Discipline is hard. It is difficult. Only some people are able to have this and pursue their dreams. With so many obstacles in life preventing us or challenging us, in achieving our goals, without discipline, we fail consistently. The best solution to be disciplined is to remove the obstacles. We must make it easy for us to stay on course. We must make it a habit for us. Once we are able to do that, discipline becomes a routine. Of course, life will always throw something at us that will divert us from the path. Acknowledge that. If that would be a regular obstacle, adjust the approach. If not, then consider it as a one-time off. The next day, return to your regimen.

Start, remember, habit

Inspiration is only the starting line. It is like knowing you want to run and positioned yourself along with other runners. Why you run is your motivation. To reach the finish line first is the reason why you are running. Putting your leg in front of the other consistently is the discipline. You have started. You have your reason. You just need to keep running.

These three comes hand in hand. One cannot be beneficial without the other two. Most of the articles we read online will say that one of these are more important. As basic as it is, most people look for motivation. But without being inspired and disciplined, nothing will be achieved.

We need to harness all three. By doing so, it could help us thrive in life and be better than who we were yesterday.