We are known creatures of habit, whether good or bad we are all disciplined in some area of our lives. It could be eating right or wrong. Waking up early or late. Exercising or not. All of these are disciplines that we have become accustomed to over time. Disciplined to do what help or what hurts.
What is your mind disciplined to do? How have you contributed to these things? What is one thing that you do that you know you must stop in order to accomplish the goals for your life?Discipline is the bridge between GOALS and ACCOMPLISHMENTS.- Jim Rohn
As you read through this post I want you to keep those questions in the back of your mind. We all have things in our lives that we can live without. When we sit back and think about them they could be the very thing that keeps us from accomplishing our goals. Being disciplined is what makes the difference between good and GREAT, being a failure or success, winning and losing, the space between #1 and #2. So what is your discipline pattern like? Are you one to finish the job or give up when it gets tough and settle for mediocrity? The goal is to train your mind to stick to a set of activities that will allow the things you want to be accomplished. This is a concept I learned some time ago in a book called "The SLIGHT EDGE" by Jeff Olson. Doing the simple things over and over again even when you don't want to do them until you reach your goal.
One of the best examples when it comes to discipline is sports; lets take basketball for example. Player A arrives at the gym early and stays late, shoots 500+ free throws, and practices the fundamentals for hours because he knows that come game time it will pay off. Player B comes to practice during scheduled times and does just enough to stay on the team. Player B shoots a few free throws, practices plays with the team and leaves practice when over. Player A is the #1 player on the team while player B comes off the bench. It takes self-control and a conscious effort to be disciplined, but the reward is much greater than the feeling of failure.
TIME magazine published an article recently that proved that self-disciplined people are happier. The research, which was published in The Journal of Personality, showed that self-control isn't just about deprivation, but more about managing conflicting goals. (Google: "Self-Disciplined people are happier and not as deprived as you think" by Maia Szalavitz)
I made it a goal to become more disciplined and focused in certain areas of my life. Most of these areas are overlooked or often taken for granted because it's something we do everyday. EAT! Seven months ago I decided to give up chicken. What in the world was I thinking, right? I mean we all have to eat. When I decided to take on this task I thought of something that I do everyday without second thought and it was eat chicken. So I decided to give it up to discipline myself in one area that would help discipline me in other areas as well. Since giving up beef and pork, I would eat chicken every day for 9 years straight because it was convenient and tastes good. I challenged myself to give it up and find a healthy substitute. Doing something for 9 years and all of a sudden giving it up is hard to do and takes a level of commitment that you must be ready for mentally. I devised a plan of what I would do anytime I wanted chicken (ALWAYS HAVE A PLAN!), did my research on healthy substitutions (KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GETTING INTO, CALCULATED STEPS), and stick to the plan no matter what (DISCIPLINE). That was eight months ago and I haven't had any chicken since. I feel better, I am losing weight, and my overall health is great! I am in no way saying you have to give up chicken but you have to find something that you THINK you can't go without, discipline yourself, and that focus will begin to show up in other areas of your life. NOW WHY WOULD I DO SUCH A THING? I knew that GIVING UP something that I LOVED to eat would obviously take effort and could only help me in other areas of my life.
So my challenge to you is to find something that you think you cant go without and make a DECISION to give it up or scale back and this will help in maintain discipline in other areas of your life. Self-discipline is never easy and being able to consciously put your mind to a task and stick to it is half the battle. We must first DECIDE that we are going to do it! Create a solid PLAN to help us stay the course. EXECUTE the plan with 100% focus. The great thing about this is that if you fall short you can always refocus and start again but DONT GIVE UP!
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©C.LEWIS 2014
DREAM ON PURPOSE EVERYDAY
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