A friend posted a question on LinkedIn: "What matters more, motivation or discipline?" For her, low motivation meant lack of discipline. So she was wondering which one influences the other? Let's try to understand the semantics first. The verb for discipline is "to discipline" and means to bring in line with a set of rules, to straighten out, to make consistent, usually referred to behaviour. The verb for motivation is "to motivate" and means to inspire, to push, to make excited, usually referred to doing things. I don't think these verbs are mutually exclusive. You need motivation to stay disciplined. and you need discipline to stay motivated. If discipline is your tea, motivation is your sugar. If discipline is your mayai, motivation is your chips. If discipline is the money, motivation is your life.