For WWE wrestling fans around the world, this weekend marked the 36th annual edition of their version of the Super Bowl – Wrestlemania.
I’ve watched WWE since I was a kid. Though I don’t watch it regularly anymore, I do still look forward to Wrestlemania every year to get caught up on the storylines and get a little hit of nostalgia.
This is the biggest event of the year and is typically held in NFL football stadiums with 80-100,000 screaming fans in attendance.
This year was a little bit different. Instead of 100,000 screaming fans, the event was pre-taped at their Performance Center with no fans at all. It felt a little bit weird watching it with utter silence from the stands, but it was still a fantastic show, as usual.
After it was over they aired a documentary on one of my past favourite wrestlers, Edge. He had come back from a career-ending neck injury after 9 years and the documentary was highlighting how he was able to do that.
The documentary was very well done, filled with more nostalgia for me as they showed highlights of Edge’s career from back in the early 2000’s. But one thing stuck out to me the most – a shirt Edge was wearing.
One of the clips was a typical “Rocky-esque” training montage of Edge training in his home gym, preparing his body for his comeback (which gave me serious home gym envy, as I’m forced to train in my hallway…). During his training session he was wearing a t-shirt with a simple phrase across the chest:
DISCIPLINE > MOTIVATION
We all rely too much on motivation to carry us through. To push us to do things we say we want to do.
“I just can’t get motivated”, we say.
The problem with relying on motivation is that we can’t depend on it. It’s a depleting resource and when it’s gone, it’s gone until by some random chance we see an inspirational training montage that makes us think we should get back to our own workouts.
These random spurts of motivation are great when they happen and they can make us feel unstoppable, but we certainly can’t depend on them consistently.
Wouldn’t it be better to be able to do the things we say we want to do without having to rely on motivation?
That’s where discipline comes in. Discipline leads to action which leads to results which leads to motivation.
Discipline to do the things you say you’re going to do, even when you don’t feel like doing it.
Discipline to wake up early. Discipline to go to bed early so that you *can* wake up early.
Discipline to sit in your chair by the window every single day and meditate for 15 minutes.
Discipline to get your workouts in, even when you’re tired and would rather sit on the couch and watch Tiger King for the 4th time.
Discipline to plan out your meals in advance. Discipline to actually stick to that plan when you get a craving for pizza.
Discipline to go outside and go for a walk because you said you would, even when it’s cold outside.
If you had the discipline to do all of that, isn’t it true that you would *feel* more motivated? Isn’t it true that you would feel better about yourself? Proud of yourself?
Cultivating discipline to do what you said you would do, even when you don’t want to do it. That’s how you can tap into a never-ending reserve of motivation and self-confidence.
I don’t know about you, but I would take that every single day over relying on an inspirational video to motivate me.
Discipline > Motivation, every time.
Stay strong. Live awesome.
-Cam