This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "The Science of Self-Discipline" by Peter Hollins. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.
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What’s the importance of self-discipline? What does it mean to be disciplined?
In The Science of Self-Discipline, Peter Hollins discusses what discipline is and why he believes it’s a critical component to accomplishing your goals. To do so, he explains the biological mechanisms that underlie our decision-making.
Keep reading to learn more about why discipline is crucial for success.
What Is Discipline?
Hollins explains the importance of self-discipline by defining it. Discipline is the willpower to resist things you desire in the short term in order to promote what’s best for you in the long term. Discipline isn’t to be confused with motivation, which is based on emotion and is typically fleeting. Motivation is complementary to discipline because it can be a catalyst for setting a goal and even inspire some action toward that goal, but it’s short-lived. In contrast to motivation, discipline is characterized by self-sustained habits that steadily lead you toward a goal, even when you don’t feel motivated. When motivation fades, Hollins explains, discipline carries you forward.
| Can Discipline and Motivation Help You Reach Your Goals? Although Hollins explains that discipline is more dependable than motivation when it comes to driving toward long-term goals, research shows that certain types of motivation can be effective for achieving long-term goals. Psychologists distinguish between two types of motivation: extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic motivation is a drive based on external reward or punishment. For example, this could be a car you’re saving money to buy or your fear of disappointing a parent. In contrast, intrinsic motivation is your drive to do what you innately enjoy or are interested in. For example, you like waking up to hike at dawn because of the wildlife you’re interested in viewing and the pleasure of watching the sunrise. In a study observing the effects of different motivation sources on long-term weight loss, external motivation was shown to be short-lived and ineffective, while intrinsic motivation was long-lasting and effective. Based on this research, experts suggest that intrinsic motivation and discipline are required to reach your long-term goals and achieve long-lasting health. In this view, discipline is essential to perform the daily habits that lead to your goals. However, you should try to form habits that you’re intrinsically motivated to do because these are shown to be the most sustainable. For example, if your goal is to lose weight and you enjoy community atmospheres, consider joining a local soccer league or a running club. But what about goals that require habits you aren’t intrinsically motivated to do? One possibility is that intrinsic motivation may form after you perform a habit over time. For example, you don’t like regularly reading for a history class in college, but you eventually develop an interest in Ancient Rome that drives your reading habits in that subject. |
Why Discipline Is Important
Any goal worth striving for will involve some discomfort. Self-discipline helps us push through discomfort and fleeting moments of motivation to accomplish our goals. For example, if your goal is to write a book, you might set a goal of writing 1,000 words each day. If you use discipline to maintain this routine, you’ll persevere through difficult days when motivation is low and continue making progress toward your ultimate goal.
Develop Discipline Like It’s a Muscle
Hollins explains that just like any part of your body you would train to improve, your brain can become more proficient at maintaining discipline through practice. Research shows that certain areas in the prefrontal cortex are involved in your ability to maintain discipline. This is significant because our brains can grow and change through neuroplasticity. Although our brains are most malleable when we’re young, they’re capable of changing into adulthood. Thus, behaving in disciplined ways strengthens new pathways in your prefrontal cortex and makes discipline more automatic. On the other hand, giving into temptation weakens these pathways in your prefrontal cortex, making self-gratifying behaviors more habitual.
Hollins writes that another implication of the idea that we can train our brain like any other muscle is that your brain is also subject to exhaustion from discipline training. Just like too much exercise can overwork muscles in your body, constantly exercising discipline to resist strong temptations can exhaust your will. If you deplete your capacity for discipline by not ever giving yourself a break, this can carry over into other areas of your life. For example, if you force yourself to work nonstop for an extended period, you’ll not only exhaust yourself from overworking, but you’ll likely lose your diligence in areas that demand discipline, such as your diet and exercise routine.
By practicing discipline without any relief, says Hollins, you can also set yourself up for excessive indulgence. For instance, if you resist using social media for an unsustainably long time, you may reach a breaking point that leads to a TikTok binge or other indulgences worse than you set out to solve by practicing discipline in the first place.
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Here's what you'll find in our full The Science of Self-Discipline summary:
- Why changing habits takes far more than creating a routine
- Science-based habits and strategies for maintaining discipline
- How perfectionism holds us back from risk and success
