Don’t let your party down: Discipline vs. Motivation
My alarm is loud. It starts its incessant beeping at 5:00AM just like it does every weekday morning. I roll out of bed and see two sets of brown eyes staring at me from across the room. Behind them, two tails wag in the dim early morning light. I yawn and slide the alarm button into the “off” position.
“Okay, puppies. I’m coming.” Bruce and Ahsoka prance out of the bedroom and into the hall. I follow them and round the corner into my home office. Gimli chirps her good morning and complains that her breakfast is 27 seconds late. I scoop the cat food into Gimli’s bowl and then open Petrie’s tank to spray him with a mist of water. I click on the light for his tank and he blinks his big eyes at me. “Good morning, Mr. Frog.” I greet him, formally.
With the frog and cat taken care of, I start my way downstairs. Ahsoka bounds down ahead and Bruce trots down the stairs by my side, his nose tapping my finger tips periodically to make sure I am still following him. Ahsoka spins like the sTasmanian Devil but somehow still manages to get straight to the kitchen. By this point, Bruce is prancing like a show pony at my hip. Both dogs excitedly wag their tails as I fill their food bowls with their breakfast. Bruce waits with continued anticipation as he watches me mix in his supplements. Much like his mother, Bruce has a lot of allergies and has special dietary needs. As both dogs eat their breakfast and are then let outside to have their morning potty break, I start the rest of my morning routine:
Step 1. Bathroom, wash face, brush teeth, apply skin care and a little makeup, brush hair.
Step 2. Drink a big glass of water with my creatine and vitamins.
Step 3. Have breakfast of overnight oats I made the night before and a cup of coffee.
Step 4. Go back upstairs, get dressed into gym clothes, say bye to critters and my partner.
Step 5. Head to gym, normally arrive around 6:15-6:30AM.
I started this routine at the beginning of June. Before this, my morning routine was very different but my evening routine was when I would factor in my workout time. However, this routine started to not work for me. I needed more free evening time and I did not want to give up my workouts. Initially, I was motivated to start this new routine because it was new! I had a new coach! I joined a new gym! I could commit to a completely new routine, no problem! Because the feeling of newness was awesome!
And then, the novelty of all the new things started to wear off.
And 5AM still arrives even if my motivation doesn’t.
In order to start a new habit of any kind, but especially a fitness or health related habit, motivation is a key factor to get started, of course.
Initially.
You have to want to change. Not only do you have to want to, but you have to want to for yourself and yourself, only. But, on the hard days, after your routine is set and the gravitational pull of newness fades and the black hole of apathy starts to creep back in, the days when you can find yourself justifying why you deserve a break or why you aren’t going to do whatever it is you said you were going to do: Your motivation won’t save you.
Motivation is fleeting. Discipline is steadfast.
However, this is not to say you need to force yourself into a routine you absolutely hate. That would be insane. That would be silly. That is also not sustainable for long term goals. Think of it this way: Not showing up to a workout is like not showing up to a DND session. You’re only letting your party, the people that rely on you, down. Now, with your workouts, the party you are letting down is yourself and your health goals.
Don’t let your party down! Show up for yourself.
Let’s be clear: I’m not saying you have to get up at 5AM every day (or, like, ever) if the idea of waking up early sounds positively dreadful to you. (Or, maybe that just doesn't work for your life for a myriad of other reasons). The point is: building a routine that you can and will follow is a helpful step to take in establishing the discipline it takes to achieve your goals. Hold yourself accountable, first. Because, truly, only you can. Don’t let your party down!
