Reaching Your Goals with Motivation, Momentum, and Discipline

I’m very excited about the new year. I know it gets old for some people with the whole “new year, new goals,” but I take every opportunity to pursue my personal growth with every new year, with every new month, with every new week, even with every full moon. I set intentions for the next 28 to 30 days, and since we are all entering this new year, I wanted to talk about motivation, momentum, and discipline.

Motivation for reaching your goals

Motivation is what gets you started. Momentum keeps you going, and discipline is what makes the difference. You can wake up motivated one day to do what it takes to reach your goals, but motivation can be lost at any time. Motivation, for me, is tied to my moods or my emotions. I don’t know if that’s how it is for you, but we are being led mostly by emotions, whether we want to admit it or not. We make decisions based on emotion, store based on our moods, and a lot of us take action without thinking. And that could be a good thing, that could be a bad thing.

Momentum

If you start adapting momentum, if you start rolling your motivation with momentum, then your motivation, even if it wanes, you are already moving. You’re already in the process of reaching your goal. So even if your motivation wins, you’re still heading the right direction. You’re not stopping it. It’s the law of physics – a body in motion stays in motion. But even momentum slows down and comes to a stop if there’s no fire behind that pushing you, propelling you forward.

Discipline

So what you need, the third ingredient to this amazing formula is discipline. You need to have the discipline to wake up even when you don’t feel like it, even when you’re not motivated to get out of bed and take your vitamins that you know are going to make you feel better that day or take your medication or go for a walk or drink that smoothie that you said was going to help you with your energy and mental clarity or with your weight loss. But if you have the discipline to fuel your motivation, and to feel your momentum, then you should be able to reach your goals a lot better, a lot faster, and with fewer road bumps than others.

I’m not saying this is going to be easy because it won’t be. Discipline is not easy. If it was easy, we would all be disciplined, and we would all be living the life that we want to live. I know I struggle with this even to this day. So my word for 2024 is discipline. I have it in my office, in my journal, on a sticky note everywhere.   I even wrote it on the mirror because I have to remind myself that I am focusing more on my discipline rather than relying on motivation or relying on momentum.

Motivation + Momentum + Discipline= Reaching Your Goals

Last year, I started implementing the momentum part of things, and that did help some, but it’s not the full formula. So the complete formula that I want to share with you today is motivation + momentum + discipline equals action, equals reaching your goals. And I really hope this helps. If you need any tips, if you need any advice, if you need any coaching, let me know. I can help you with accountability. I can help you come up with a plan for your goals and keep you accountable so you can have the discipline and the motivation and the momentum to keep going.

How to Have Discipline for Reaching Your Goals

Now, here are some tips on how to have discipline for reaching your goals. You can’t let your brain think for you. If you set out to reach a goal, let’s use an example of walking one mile every day, whether it’s on the treadmill every single day.

On day one, you’re excited. We’re going to make a difference this time. Start by putting on our shoes. We will wake up a little bit earlier than usual. We’re going to get this out of the way first thing in the morning because we are committed. We jump onto the treadmill to do that mile and we feel amazing.

And maybe this carries on for two or three days, maybe the entire week, and I would be surprised if it actually carries out throughout the entire first week. Usually, by days three or four, you’re thinking, “I’ve been getting up every morning this week or earlier than normal. I’m so tired.”

“I am not going to bed a little bit early in the nighttime, so I’m kind of missing out on sleep. I’m tired”

“My feet hurt”

“And my hips are tight.”

“I think I’m going to skip this thing.”

Sound familiar?

Fight Your Brain if you want to reach your goals

So you’re already thinking. You’re letting your brain think for you. You’re letting your brain make excuses for you. And that bed looks so delicious and comfy, and it’s so cold out right now. Do you really need to walk that mile every single day? So now you’re thinking about it, and you’re losing a grip on your discipline. Your discipline is not even on the map right now. Your motivation is completely gone, and the momentum has slowed down.

Build Momentum

So the way to continue is by pulling out your discipline card and using that to build momentum. And then eventually, you’ll get motivated again at some point. So this formula is going to change depending on your day. Maybe one day you’ll start with motivation, and it’ll keep you going, and it’ll appear as if you’re having discipline. But when your motivation runs out, your momentum stops, and you’re done. And then you feel like you failed. You feel like you quit, and you’ve got to start all over again. And remember, it’s okay to take breaks. Just because you had a day or a week off doesn’t mean that you failed, and you have to start all over from the beginning. That a lot of times makes us feel like quitting altogether.

Are You Quitting or Taking a Break?

Look at it as a break. You needed a rest. You took a week off. Okay, let’s get back to it. Not from square one. You have already walked five miles the first week. You are still closer to reaching your goals. Let’s continue and see many more miles we can do by the end of the month or by the end of the 20 days or whatever time frame you set out for yourself. So the formula changes because now maybe it’ll look like you have momentum, and that gives you the motivation to keep going. And with that, you’re building new habits, which is making your discipline part easier to follow because you don’t have to push yourself as hard anymore.

Change the Formula

Then the formula can change again when you are out of momentum, you’re out of motivation, but you force yourself to get up in the morning, get out of bed. Don’t think about it, just get out of bed, do the Mel Robbins 3-second trick.

3-2-1, get out of bed. Your socks, shoes, and workout clothes are ready. You put them on. You crawl to the treadmill, and a few minutes later, your body’s awake, and you’re closer to finishing that mile.

The formula changed, but it’s still the same. It’s still discipline plus motivation plus momentum equals reaching your goals, or momentum plus motivation plus discipline equals. But if you don’t have discipline in there, the formula won’t work. If you don’t have motivation or momentum in the formula, it’s not going to work.

Motivation Doesn’t Last

A lot of us rely solely on motivation, and there’s a quote that I love very much. I’m going to butcher it up because I don’t remember, but I’m going to pull it up. And it’s something like, “Motivation fades; that’s why it’s recommended daily.” Like a shower, you may have taken a shower on Monday, but you kind of have to shower every day because by Thursday, you’re going to be stinky if you don’t shower every day.

You may have motivation on Sunday or Monday to have a good week and actually continue working on your goals. But by Thursday, if you don’t have the discipline, if you don’t reignite that fire every day, then your momentum is going to win.

“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing, that’s why we recommend it daily.” Zig Ziglar

 

It’s Time to Take Action

I hope this helps you, and make sure to download my free ebook on Goal Crusher which is going to help you reach your goals. I break it up into two different goals; you have your baseline goals, and you have your push goals.

We all know that setting goals is the first step, but following through is a different story.

That’s where my FREE Goal Crusher Guide comes in – it’ll help you set realistic goals you can actually achieve, without overthinking it or setting yourself up for an impossible mission.

Inside you’ll find:

• Space to get your thoughts down on paper. This helps you identify your biggest goals and why you want to achieve them
• Practical tips for getting through the inevitable post-New Year motivation slump
•  Plus, a 4-Week Goal Checklist to track your progress, celebrate wins, and zone in on opportunities!

Can you imagine how great it will feel to start this year off with a clear, simple plan you can actually get excited about?

Just work your way through this quick guide. And before you know it, you’ll be on your way to a healthier, happier New Year.

Click here to grab your free Goal Crusher Guide now!