Discipline Is More Important Than Motivation

I remember the first time I saw a Tesla up close. It was at the Tesla showroom in the Scottsdale Fashion Square mall. I remember sitting in the driver's seat and seeing that big, shiny display that controls everything in the car with just a touch. I knew I had to have one. This was a car for tech geeks. This was a car for electrical engineers. This was a car for me.

In the weeks that followed, I thought constantly about how I could afford one and what I needed to do in order to get the money to buy one. It was during those weeks that I came up with the basis for this blog - use passive income to pay for the car.

That was over a year ago. I still love the Tesla and can't wait to have one, but time and increased familiarity have diminished my motivation somewhat. I still want one something fierce, but I don't have that same excitement that I did when I first sat in the drivers seat of the showroom model. (I'm sure an actual test drive would cure that, though.)

So when your motivation starts to fade, what keeps you moving toward your goal?

Discipline.

Discipline is what enables you to achieve long term goals. When your time horizon is so far out, it's discipline
that helps you keep moving forward when motivation flags. Your progress towards your goal should be something that is done automatically, without any thought on your part.

When I get paid, the first thing I do is distribute money to my various goal accounts according to my budget. Some money goes into the Tesla fund, some goes into the appliance replacement fund, some goes into the emergency savings fund, some goes into the retirement fund. Only after all those funds have been paid, do I look at what's left as spendable money.

Discipline turns this into second nature. It's done without even thinking about it. Then one day, I'll wake up and look at the balance in those accounts and realize I've reached my goals.