Move Over Motivation! 😳 Discipline Is What You Really Need for Success

Juliana Stryker
Sep 9
6 min read

Updated: Sep 10

For a long time (and maybe you can relate), I believed the key to achieving anything challenging was to hype myself up and ride on motivation. Whether it was fitness, academics, or my career, I thought motivation was the fuel that would get me to my goals.

Here’s a little confession: I used to watch the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show and think, “Wow! I want to look like those models.”

So I started playing the shows in the background while I worked out. At first, it worked. I felt inspired, pushed harder, and even saw my body becoming more toned.

But soon, the spark faded. Even with the same setup, VS shows on repeat, music pumping, familiar workout routines, my motivation disappeared. I tried every trick to reignite the fire: new fashion shows, new playlists, new routines. And yes, they worked… but only for a while.

That’s the thing about motivation. It’s exciting, it gives you a rush, but it never lasts.

Enter discipline. Motivation’s quieter but far more reliable cousin.

Discipline is the force that keeps you moving long after the excitement is gone.

And if there’s one thing I’ve learned, through running a clinic, my fitness journey, and even creating content, it’s this: motivation gets you started, but discipline keeps you going.

But how does discipline really keep you going? Let’s dig deeper.

Discipline vs Motivation: Why Discipline Wins Every Time

What K-pop Taught Me About Discipline

You’ll be surprised by the places I’ve found lessons in discipline.

One afternoon, while having lunch, I was browsing Disney+ for something to watch and stumbled across BTS Monuments: Beyond The Star. I had heard of BTS before, but I didn’t know much about their music or their rise to stardom. The docuseries description intrigued me: “It follows BTS from struggles and setbacks to becoming global icons, while sharing their lives and search for meaning.”

What I saw blew me away. These young men trained like Olympic athletes, dancing until the early hours of the morning, being told they weren’t good enough, and still showing up again the next day. That isn’t motivation, that’s discipline. They broke down many times, got injured many times but one thing they never did was give up. And we all know where that persistence took them.

I never thought I would be into K-pop, but their work ethic inspired me so much I even added their songs to my Spotify playlist.

Not long after, I watched Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE (yes, they recently won awards at the VMAs, which made me curious!). The girls in the group are incredibly young, but their mindset floored me. Despite the tough competition, there was no drama, no negativity, just relentless encouragement and an astonishing level of discipline.

One contestant, Emily, said something that stuck with me: “It doesn’t matter how long it’s gonna take, but at the end it’ll be all worth it.” She was only 16, but she already understood what many adults still struggle with - results don’t come from mood swings, but from persistence.

Go watch them if you haven’t. You might just walk away with a whole new respect for these idols and for the discipline that fuels their success.

Discipline in Everyday Life

Fitness Plans Flow Fysique Factory 3f.energy Discipline vs Motivation

For me, fitness is non-negotiable. I work out five times a week, which means my neighbour often sees me heading out early in the morning for work and again in the evening for gym. One day, he asked, “You must be tired. Why don’t you rest today?”

I smiled and said, “Because this is my way of life. It’s like eating, drinking, and sleeping. I can’t do without it.”

He looked confused, but that’s the point: fitness, for me, is essential. It’s not tied to motivation. It’s a habit built through discipline, showing up even when I’m exhausted, especially when I’m exhausted.

Discipline at Work

This one’s close to my heart, because it shifts the focus from personal discipline to how I view discipline in my team.

As a founder, I’ve learned that discipline isn’t just about me showing up for myself, it’s also about how I set the tone for my team. Discipline, in leadership, means building trust and believing that the right people will hold themselves accountable.

I’ve always believed that true discipline comes from within. Professionals don’t need someone standing over them with a clock, they set their own standards and live by them.

In Singapore, it’s common for workplaces to require employees to clock in and out or get a medical certificate (MC) from a doctor when they’re sick. These rules are meant to enforce discipline, but to the people who already hold themselves accountable, they can feel like a lack of trust.

At my own clinic, I’ve chosen a different approach. I trust that my team has the right attitude and self-discipline, which means I don’t micromanage their hours. As long as the work is done, I don’t pry.

One of my team members even asked me recently why I don’t monitor their hours more closely. My answer was simple: “If I have to discipline you like that, it means I’ve hired the wrong team.”

So How Can You Get Discipline?

There’s a science to everything. And a lot of what I’m sharing here isn’t just my opinion, it’s backed by how the brain actually works.

To build discipline, you need to achieve something called limbic control.

Here’s why motivation never lasts: it’s tied to the limbic system, the emotional part of our brain that craves instant gratification, the snooze button, the comfort food, the “I’ll do it tomorrow.”

Discipline, on the other hand, comes from the higher brain (your prefrontal cortex), the part that plans, reasons, and makes choices based on long-term goals instead of short-term feelings.

Think of it this way: motivation is your limbic brain chasing moods. Discipline is your rational brain choosing the plan. That’s why you can’t rely on motivation alone. You need discipline to override impulses and keep you aligned with your bigger vision.

And here’s where it gets even more interesting: studies show that dopamine, the feel-good chemical isn’t just released when you finally achieve a reward. It’s also released when you anticipate one. That means when you train your mind to see small acts of discipline as wins like getting out of bed early, showing up at the gym, eating the right meal, your brain rewards you right away.

Resisting the urge for instant gratification becomes its own victory. You don’t just wait for the big results to feel good, your brain starts celebrating the disciplined choices themselves. And that’s how you override limbic friction.

The Hard Truth About Discipline

Let’s be real. Discipline doesn’t always feel good. It can feel like punishment in the moment: waking up early, saying no to comfort, repeating the same routines day after day.

But when the results come, you realise it was never punishment. It was preparation. Once discipline becomes habit, success feels less like a finish line and more like the natural outcome of your choices.

My Takeaway

My takeaway is simple: motivation follows your mood, but discipline follows your plan.

If you want to achieve anything meaningful, in fitness, business, love, or life, you can’t rely on motivation alone. You need the determination and discipline to move the needle every day. It won’t always be comfortable, but that discomfort is proof that you’re growing.

I’m still in the middle of building the big empire I’ve dreamed of. And I’ve confronted the brutal facts: it won’t be easy, and it won’t happen tomorrow or even by Christmas. But I never lose faith that it will happen. I often tell my husband, “I don’t hope I’ll be successful, I know I will. As long as I keep doing the hard things, even when I don’t feel like it, success is inevitable.”

And here’s the strange thing: because of this mindset shift, I actually find myself excited even when I’m slogging away with barely any time for vacations or temporary pleasures. I’m not discouraged it’s not happening now, because I’m thrilled about what’s to come. Maybe that’s the dopamine we talked about earlier.

This also reminds me of something I once read from Viktor Frankl in Man's Search for Meaning.

He wrote that freedom without responsibility can easily dissolve into drifting. And just like freedom, motivation without discipline slips away. Discipline is what grounds us, choosing responsibility over feelings, long-term growth over short-term comfort.

Frankl even suggested that maybe the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast should be balanced by a Statue of Responsibility on the West. And to me, that’s exactly what discipline is: responsibility in action.