Discipline
Having discipline is hard. Deep down, we know what we need to do to save that lump sum, order takeout only once a week, or have a regular bedtime. Sometimes, we are already disciplined in one area, but it doesn’t quite transcend to the important areas of our lives.
I once heard a quote by Venus Williams, who said, "When you are disciplined, you get what you want, and when you are not, you don't get what you want." It is simple yet so true. I think life is about having a balance. While having spontaneity and seeing where things go is liberating, free, and less pressured, having discipline and structure can really take you to a new level. Not playing around with yourself and not wasting your day is what separates the good from the great. I watch a lot of motivational material, and a common trait that the greats have is discipline and consistency.
We all have an inner monologue and inner voice that often influences how we think of ourselves. One of the greatest things about the mind is that whatever the conscious mind says, the subconscious believes. This is why many people find mantras and affirmations beneficial because you can trick your brain into thinking something that you are not... yet. I believe discipline fundamentally is about repetition over time, and with that, a habit is developed. Discipline also ties into how much you actually want the goal. Many people are talkers, not doers. There is no sacrifice in talking, but a lot in doing. I have always said that the longest-standing relationship we have is with ourselves, and if we lack our own self-discipline, we can’t really expect much from others.
This is not to say that you need to live your life militantly with no room for error; life happens. Sometimes you are not well, sometimes you are tired, and sometimes you are too lazy to cook after work, and it just so happens Pizza Hut has 50% off. However, for the most part, exercising discipline in all areas of life will advance you and not hinder you. This is not to say I am disciplined in every area of my life; there is always room for improvement. I also think that when you have certain things in order, it helps with managing things that are out of your control more logically. Stay with me... I will explain with an analogy.
Analogy:
Let’s say your bedroom represents your life. Your bedroom can either be messy (less/no discipline) or neat and in order (discipline). Now let’s say you’ve lost something in your bedroom, representing a problem in your life. Looking for something in a messy room can cause more chaos, confusion, and even more panic. However, you are more likely (not guaranteed) to look more systematically and logically in a tidy room and might even find what you have lost more easily. So, in a nutshell, having discipline and structure with the things you can control can help you tackle the things that you can’t control. I believe that life gets a lot better when we start to take ourselves, our lives, and our decisions more seriously.
I challenge you to take an inventory of the areas in your life in which you wish to become more disciplined and break it down into small, manageable chunks. Do you need to set a power hour alarm on your phone every day to work on your business plan?
How can you set yourself up for success?
What preparation can you do?
For example, setting out your gym clothes the night before so you can get an early morning workout.
Do you need to delete your social media apps until you have done a certain number of job applications per day?
It is funny because I believe if we were all given an incentive of monetary value, for example, we would not struggle with discipline. Let’s say someone would give you a million pounds on December 31, 2024, to not eat junk food. It would be hard, but we would get it done. While I can’t promise you will get a million pounds for having more discipline (then again, it depends on the goal), I can almost guarantee that you will tap into a higher version of yourself that you didn’t know existed, and that is something money can’t buy.
Food for thought:
Take an inventory of the areas in your life you want to become more disciplined in
Think about the ways you can set yourself up for success
Remember there is no sacrifice in talking but there is in doing.
Discipline gets you what you want (over a period of time)
