For some people the title of this post may be an open door. Of course they’re not the same, you might think. But I bet the majority of people do mistake these for one another. A motivated person is someone with a drive to make things happen and a disciplined person is the one who makes it happen, right? Eric Hamm and Leo Babauta beg to differ. Motivation is key for them. Discipline is when motivation is empowered through enjoying what you do and by positive public pressure.
Creating together is better!
My old-time blogging friend Leo Babauta of the immensely popular blog Zen Habits has written an ebook on the subject, together with Eric Hamm from the blog Motivate Thyself. It’s a wonderful ebook consisting of essays on the topics of motivation and discipline. It’s not an ebook that you sit down for and read from cover to cover. The writers did not intend to make it that kind of book (and they succeeded at that 
), but rather an ebook that is a valuable resource for people – wanting to achieve their goals – that get stuck in the process.
The ebook is a collection of essays that make you think (Eric’s articles are titled towards this kind), and essays that are highly actionable (which is primarily Leo’s domain). Think and do, I think Eric and Leo have found a great cooperation that’s better as a whole than the parts are on their own.
Move that bus!
I really like the metaphore Eric uses in one of his early chapters. He explains motivation using the concept of cars that have broken down.
Think about a car, sitting on a flat, paved road. The engine’s not running and the break is not engaged. Your job is to push the car past a certain point. So you lean into it and start pushing with all your might. At first it’s barely budging, but then starts creeping ahead. You dig deep and give it all you’ve got. The tires start to make their way around and the car starts moving forward. Now your energy is beginning to transfer from brute force to a kind of flow. The further you push the car, the easier it gets as momentum starts to make its way into the scenario. The motivation was the act of breaking the barrier between frozen and forward motion.
One of the things this metaphore reminded me of is the adage that people can only motivate themselves, and cannot be motivated! Interestingly though, he does not touch upon this aspect in the ebook.
Critical note
One critical note though…sometimes the ebook feels like a set of blogposts flung together. But even if it is the value that’s represented in the ebook outweighs that feeling. Maybe you can find all the info on the net too, but you know just as well as I do, that we’re not going to look for it! The ebook is a valuable set of articles that will change your ability to achieve your goals…as soon as you truly take responsibility and start doing things that move you forward!
My blogging break…
Makes you wonder…is my blogging break a motivation or a discipline problem? According to the ebook it’s a motivation problem, because discipline is a poor substitute for motivation. Interesting…I’m heading back in the book to read more. There’s lots to explore in there!
Go get your copy of The Ultimate Motivation Handbook right here for $14.95.
