This is an idea that has resonated with me since (at least) high school.
Motivation is shit. Often times, I bring this up and lot of people will do their best to defend motivation.
“You need motivation to do x.” “Motivation is why you do y.”
All complete bullshit in my, and many others’ eyes.
Discipline.
I can’t really define discipline as I don’t have a true understanding of it, or how to help develop it.
But if I had to try, I would say this:
Discipline is the skill of doing what needs to be done, even if we don’t want to.
I initially wanted to say “doing what we’ve previously decided needs to be done,” but thinking about it, there are things we’ve not thought about prior that requires discipline at times.
It takes discipline to get out of bed when the sheets are just that comfy. Discipline to go to the gym on a rainy day. Motivation often gets us started, I know it gets me started, but then quickly falls off.
Discipline is what keeps us going when the motivation is gone.