26. The key to making change last...

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​26.

Motivation vs. Discipline:
The two keys to lasting change

When creating change in our lives, motivation is often the spark that gets us started. Motivation can be either pushing us away from something we want to avoid, or pulling us towards something we desire. Often we have both push and pull motivators to start a change.

It is often the excitement or the desperation, the inspiration or the last drop that pushes us to take the first step. But as time goes on, motivation can fade, and this is where discipline steps in.
Discipline is what keeps us going when motivation wanes. It’s the ability to stick to our goals even when the excitement fades or obstacles arise.

Research shows that discipline is a key predictor of success in long-term behavior change (Duckworth et al., 2007). And discipline is built on a few important building blocks - having a clear goal, creating a plan and building habits. In the beginning those are not habits, but new actions and small steps we must integrate in our daily lives. But with time our commitment turns them into habits and we notice, not only is it now that we use less effort into executing them,  but also we get joy out of it.

To put it like this - motivation is what gets us signed up for the race but it is discipline - to put one foot in front of the other, that gets us to the finish line.

I heard that it takes 21 days to turn something into a habit. Is it true?
        To some extent. It is a simplified way to look at it but…