How to Discipline Yourself
One word that you can expect to hear when you begin your level up journey is the word ‘discipline.’
Self-improvement would not be the same if you were just winging it the whole time.
But let’s ask a serious question, does discipline live up to the hype?
The word is so common in self-improvement spheres that there HAS to be some kind of catch, right?
Well, that depends.
‘On what?’
On you.
Discipline can be your best friend or something that doesn’t really impact you.
It all depends on the mindset that you approach discipline with.
Just like anything else in life, if you give a half-ass effort, you will get a half-ass result.
Not rocket science.
But that doesn’t have to be you.
As long as you can get a few core concepts about discipline down, then you will be someone who stays for the long run, not someone who is discipline when they feel like it.
There is a huge difference between an act & a lifestyle.
We are going for the latter: Lifestyle.
But before you learn how to be disciplined, you need to learn why you are incorporating it into your lifestyle in the first place.
The Chaotic Creature
Picture this.
Your 5-year-old self or another 5-year-old kid.
What do you notice about them?
‘They cry, act out, show a lot of emotions.’
Sounds accurate.
We are born onto this planet crying & being emotional.
At the core state, humans are chaotic, irrational, emotional creatures.
If you don’t take any PROACTIVE measures to counteract that, then you will remain a chaotic, irrational, emotional creature.
How many ‘adults’ do you know that act like they are still 5?
They throw hissy fits, whine & are whimsical etc.
Those are the adults who never grew up.
Their disruptive emotions overpower their mind.
When disruptive emotions overpower the mind, you get immaturity.
Discipline Exercises Stability
When your mind overpowers disruptive emotions, you get discipline.
Pretty fascinating, huh?
A small mental switch that can turn your entire life around.
Discipline is powerful because you are exercising the POWER of your mind.
You are fighting against the CORE chaotic self to bring on a structure.
And when you do that, you gain back a massive control over your world.
But look a little closer!
Having your mind being strong enough to overpower disruptive emotions is not only discipline, it is also maturity.
Mature people feel a roller coaster of emotions just like you.
They just know how to control themselves when faced with it, rather than being impulsive.
Therefore discipline allows you to:
Strengthen your mind
Gain back control over your world
Facilitate maturity
Pretty good deal if you ask me!
How To Discipline Yourself
Now that you know the predominant purpose of discipline & how it will enhance your life for the best, you are ready to begin.
In order to start this journey, you need to get a few frameworks right.
You need to get the following 3 in harmony:
1. Mind
2. Why
3. Routine
When one of the elements are off, you risk becoming a half-asser.
A half-asser is someone who incorporates discipline some days, forgets it on the other days, then picks up where they left off.
This sort of behavior prevents you from ever building up momentum & seeing any results from your discipline.
Don’t be a half-asser.
If you are going to be disciplined, then commit to the process.
If you can make all 3 align, then you are are going places.
Let’s go thru each one.
1. Mind
Get your mind right by preparing correctly.
Many people who begin their discipline journey think it’s supposed to be all rainbows & butterflies.
Ha! Nope.
There will be days where you do not want to be disciplined.
You just want to be a lazy sack of shit & watch Stranger Things all day.
And that’s fine.
Expect those days so you are not rattled when you come across those days.
Just by expecting hiccups, you prep your mind to play for the long run.
Also, understand this major concept:
Discipline is not an act, it s a lifestyle.
Get this core concept registered in your mind!
If you treat it like an act, then you WILL quit.
But if you treat it like a lifestyle, then you will do it on autopilot.
Getting your mind right is the major factor of discipline.
So make sure you:
· Plan early for roadblocks.
· Treat it like a lifestyle.
2. Why
In order to treat it like a lifestyle, you need a Why.
Without the why, you become someone just doing a bunch of random productive tasks.
Doing a bunch of random tasks will have you working aimlessly.
Identifying the why allows you to work purposefully.
Is it to maintain a stronger control over your emotions?
To strengthen your mind power?
Reach some sort of end goal?
Don’t matter!
Identify a Why so you become more invested in the task.
Plus, your why will refine over time, so don’t spend too much time on this section.
Just have a rough idea so you can begin.
3. Routine
Without a routine, you will fail at discipline.
It really is that simple.
The whole point of being disciplined is executing a routine!
Without it, you got nothing.
Question is, how do you get a routine?
Great question.
The most simple answer is Experimentation.
I wish I could give you a more detailed answer, but nope.
Experimentation it is.
Everyone has different routines.
If you do a carbon copy of someone else’s routine, you may not feel as invested.
‘Is it fine to use other people’s routine for inspiration?’
Sure!
You can use it as a baseline in the initial stages to get started.
But aim to add your own unique twist as well.
Once you get some creativity involved, you will feel much more involved.
That’s because you used your mind power to design a lifestyle framework, which will have you feeling more invested.
MIND HACK: Refer to your routines as rituals. No clue why, but it makes you feel more invested.
How to Discipline Yourself for the Long Run
Want to know something?
At first, discipline feels like work.
But after a while, it will feel like your safe haven.
You eventually come to realize that the world is a very chaotic place.
When you learn this, you realize that a little structure could never hurt anyone.
People get the misconception that discipline makes you boring.
Wrong.
Discipline makes it easier to enjoy yourself when you are out.
That’s because you are not worrying if you still have work left lying around.
PS: Make sure you don’t only use discipline to be productive, make sure you also schedule in social time.
If you do that, you will realize the beauty of discipline & how powerful it was all along.
You’ll be stunned by how you had spent so long just letting life happen to you.
Why?
Because you had the power to architect it all along.
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– ArmaniTalks 🎙️🔥
