Which is More Important to Career Success...Motivation or Discipline?

Both Are Important, But One Has a 6 Clear Advantages Over the Other.

Lebron James’ disciplined daily routines to achieve basketball greatness are levels above those of the average NBA player.

In the pursuit of professional achievement, many people tend to place a premium on motivation as the key driver of success. The common thinking states that, if you can just “find that inner spark”, that passionate drive to propel you forward, and the rest will fall into place. While motivation certainly has its place, the reality is that discipline is an even more crucial ingredient for long-term career triumph.

The fitness and career industries make untold sums of money by trying to motivate you - usually to buy a product or service through slickly produced and (sometimes) misleading motivational advertisements. These ads purport, “The main missing ingredient to your success is a lack of motivation”. We’ve all heard these popular advertising slogans that play on psychological underpinnings…

• How bad do you want it? - Challenging you by “negging” can motivate you to “prove ‘em wrong”.

• Just Do It - Motivates you by challenging your willpower.

• No Excuses - Motivates you by challenging your ego.

• Be Like Mike - Plays on common aspirations to be rich, famous, and athletic.
  

Below is a supremely motivational workout clip from the popular YouTube influencer, “Motiversity”, which has 3.55 million subscribers. This video will make you believe, that if you start training hardcore tomorrow, you too can make the 2028 Olympics!

While motivation certainly has its place, the reality is, that discipline is an even more crucial ingredient for long-term career triumph. Here are 6 “Reality Checks” as to why discipline trumps motivation when it comes to reaching your professional goals:

6 Reality Checks on why discipline is more potent than motivation.

1. Discipline is Sustainable, Motivation is Fleeting

Motivation is inherently fickle because it ebbs and flows based on your mood, energy levels, and external circumstances. One day, you may feel fired up and ready to conquer the world, while the day after feeling inspired, you can barely muster the willpower to get out of bed.

In contrast, discipline is a success-breeding habit, a reliable pattern of behavior that you've cultivated over time. It doesn't require the same emotional high to kick into action. A disciplined professional will make steady and incremental progress toward their goals - even on low-motivation days.

While most people either love or loathe Los Angeles Lakers legend LeBron James, even his detractors must give him props for his extraordinary discipline.

While James has endless resources and teams of top professionals to help him achieve greatness, James still is a walking enterprise with a hectic schedule, a family, and tons of temptations that fame gives him access to - which could have easily derailed him from being the “best to ever ball”! More importantly, James is still doing the requisite hard work, despite the privilege he enjoys.

Plenty of promising pro athletes get caught up in the fast lifestyle of easy sex, drugs, and materialism to the point where it undermines the very discipline that helped make them a sports success story in the first place! It’s easier than you think to lose the discipline and motivation required to stay on top after one “makes it”. When you experience the trappings of success, nobody ever telling you “no”, and having “F U money” to do as you please; it’s easy to lose your way.

In spite of his wild success, during the movie production of 2019’s Space Jam, James woke up at 5 am to train for basketball, before embarking on a 12-hour shooting day. James’ commitment to discipline - where he invests $1.5 million annually in his body on training, recovery, and dieting - is undeniable. One of the 3 things LeBron James credits to his world-beating success is discipline, not motivation.

2. Discipline Breeds Consistency, Motivation is Inconsistent

High motivation often leads to bursts of activity and productivity, but it's difficult to maintain that level of intensity perpetually. Disciplined individuals, on the other hand, are consistent in their efforts - as they put in the work day in and day out, regardless of their emotional state. This consistency is what separates the true achievers from those who rely on motivation alone. Ex: You may have signed up for Cyclebar spin classes with your homegirls on a whim and had a great time burning calories on an activity-filled Saturday afternoon. Will you be just as motivated to partake in Cyclebar spin classes without your cheering squad on a rainy Monday at 8 am before you commute to work for an 8-hour shift? You can’t always have people around to handhold you on your way to achieving career or life goals! You will have to do unfun activities alone to make progress. 3. Discipline Develops Skills, Motivation Lacks Follow-Through

It's easy to get excited about a new skill or project when motivation is running high. But what happens when the initial excitement inevitably wears off? Disciplined people understand that real growth and mastery require sustained, deliberate practice over time.

They're willing to push through the difficult, monotonous parts of skill development because they know that discipline will pay dividends in the long run. Ex: You may be motivated to run a marathon as a “bucket list” goal, but behind that cool “finish line” selfie that gets 200 likes on Instagram, is a thousand hours of painful training in all types of weather - while enduring a strict dieting regimen, fighting off doubt, and dealing with FOMO for all the social events you had to sacrifice for this one goal. Oh yeah, you still have to do your other adult responsibilities successfully while pursuing your marathon dream too! 4. Discipline Overcomes Obstacles, Motivation Crumbles Under Pressure

Setbacks and challenges are inevitable on the road to success. When motivation is your primary driver, these obstacles can quickly derail your progress and crush your spirit. Nonetheless, disciplined goal setters power through adversity. They've trained themselves to keep going even when they don't feel like it, adapt when necessary, and overcome whatever awaits.

Motivation often wilts precipitously in the middle of a long project, when you feel you came too far to quit, but still have no idea how long it will take to reach your end-goal nirvana. Discipline through successful habits and routines will be your internal compass to pushing through these tough times.

5. Discipline Comes From Within, Motivation Falters When It Relies on External Sources

When you rely on outside sources to motivate you, what happens when the law of diminishing returns applies? There’s only so much “Just Do It” music, video, or podcast content you can consume before it becomes useless white noise. Furthermore, if you rely on family and friends to motivate you through slumps, backsliding, setbacks, obstacles, or plateaus, your business project is at the mercy of their approval. Successful people don’t make it a habit to give away their agency, autonomy, or power to cater to other people’s opinions or rely on them for emotional support 6. Motivation is Sugar, While Discipline is Protein

Relying on motivation to take you to your professional “Promised Land” is akin to consuming a diet with sugar as its prime foundation. Sugar tastes great, provides a quick burst of energy, is convenient to find, and makes you feel happier in the short term. On the other hand, animal protein consumption tastes great too, but can be expensive, inconvenient to cook from scratch, and might slow your energy down during the early stages of digestion.

Nonetheless, if you heavily rely on sugar for rigorous activity, your energy will crash after the initial spike, leaving you feeling more lethargic and (ironically) less motivated to finish. In contrast, consuming animal protein will provide you with a consistent energy supply over the long haul, rendering you less likely to peter out before the finish line. Conclusion In the end, the most successful professionals are the ones who have cultivated rock-solid discipline. They may not feel motivated 100% of the time, but their commitment to consistent, strategic action allows them to achieve what the motivationally dependent can only dream of. To take your career to new heights, focus on building disciplined habits and routines to support your dreams. While a disciplined lifestyle is unglamorous and not for the faint of heart in a world full of temptations, trials, and excuses, it's the surest path to lasting achievement! Additional Content

• Check out Lebron James’ ridiculously disciplined lifestyle here.

• Lebron James’ commitment to discipline is showcased below. Completing this weekly rigorous routine for decades requires more than simple motivational memes or quotes.