Discipline: What Creative Work is Missing

People are creative by nature. I love being creative, it’s fun, satisfying and interesting.

But as someone who is transitioning to being a full-time content creator, I find creativity and inspiration are two sides of the same coin. That they shouldn't be the fuel to do great work.

When I picked up writing again, I set myself lofty goals. To write 1,000 words every day, to publish 3 times a week or to do many projects at the same time.

Inspiration was there. The motivation was high and creativity was flowing.

But a day or two into pursuing these goals I found myself fumbling. I knew I could be setting myself too high of an expectation so I toned it down. But I was still slipping and sliding. Social media distracted me, and the eagerness to practice writing threw the rest of my day off.

I wanted to do great work, but I wasn't getting anywhere. I knew I had to go back to something I was dreading. Be disciplined.

Dreading Discipline

I’ve always had trouble with discipline. But it wasn’t because I was a rebel with a cause.

I was lazy.

In secondary school, we had after class activities and I tried to join the basketball team. I played it for long hours after school. But the idea of committing to training was something that turned me off.

So I didn’t go.

Discipline was a key component in my military service. But this time I couldn't walk away. I dreaded the daily routines and training. Discipline is difficult. Following a schedule can be hard. Little things will throw you off. Being accountable to yourself doesn't always work.

Discipline is simple. But it isn't easy. Especially not in creative work.

Great Work

I had an interest in doing great work, which I saw as two things:

• Creative work.

• Inspiring others.

But there was a key thing I misunderstood. To do great work, interest wasn't enough. I confused interest with motivation. But as I realised, motivation is fleeting. Discipline isn't.

The great work I wanted was to be creative and inspire others. Those are the products of consistency and discipline. Not the other way round.

Be Consistent

Great work needs consistency. That was why I was ambitious with my goals, banking on motivation to bring me through.

But I went into it forgetting the fundamental part of consistency, discipline.

Great work is achievable by anyone. With discipline as the foundation for consistency, you can achieve great work.

That is why discipline is important. You need it to put away the excuses and get things done.