Tag: discipline

THE KEYS TO FREEDOM

Many of us have a negative association with the word ‘discipline’. It starts from childhood where we are disciplined for perceived bad behavior. This can be standing in the corner, a spanking or any other sort of punishment. In fact, it is here where we see discipline and punishment as the same. Then we move to school. Not much better here. We can be disciplined for acting up in class. Maybe even leading the class on an impromptu field trip while the teacher is out of the room. Say to the park…down the street. Who knew that was against the rules? Obviously not me in pre-school.

This is where another negative association to discipline begins. If our grades are not up to standards, we are told we have to be disciplined in our studies. This can result in long hours of pouring over the books and missing much of the fun our friends are enjoying. As an adult, things to not get much better. We have to be disciplined in our eating if we want to be healthy. This can mean missing out on many of our favorite foods. It can be forcing ourselves to eat many things we do not enjoy. We have to be disciplined about going to work. That sure is fun isn’t it? Roughly 87% of us do not like our current occupation. So that discipline is not enjoyable for most of us. Even as we leave work we have to remain disciplined in doctor visits and taking medication. Not much fun there.

Here is what nobody tells us. Discipline is the key to freedom. In each of the examples above, with maybe the exception of my pre-school adventures, the discipline was helping us gain some freedom. Learning how to properly behave in society allows us to have the freedom to get along once we are out on our own. Being disciplined in our studies not only helps us learn skills we will need in the real world, but shows us the value of committing focused time and effort to developing a skill. As far as being disciplined with our health, that gives us the freedom to enjoy a life with less sickness and injury. Life is no fun when you are constantly at home with the latest illness going around. Being disciplined with coming into work will keep us employed and earning a paycheck. As far as remembering to go to the doctor and take our meds, well that keeps us…alive! Freedom there!

We are taught to view discipline as what we have to go through, or even as a punishment. What many of us are not made aware of is what that discipline will result in. This change in mindset can transform our lives. Not only will it assist us in sticking to our discipline, it will make it more enjoyable. All of that will lead to a more successful life. If you will like to learn more about the power of this mindset change, join us tomorrow when we dive deeper into it.

YOUR TRUE COMPETITION

In our journey to become the best version of ourselves we encounter what we consider a lot of competition. Today’s post comes with a little mix of good and bad news. First the bad, because we love to finish on a positive note. None of what we perceive as our competition matters as much as we believe it does. Most people are too involved in their own lives to worry much about ours. Those who are not are really not competition. Anyone who is more concerned about what is going on with the lives of others rather than their own is not going very far in life. As the picture above reminds us, what stands in our way is often what lays inside of us. If you want to become an improved version of yourself as rapidly as possible, work on what is inside you. The secret to an amazing life is that it starts with becoming an amazing version of yourself.

That is the ‘bad’ news. In reality, it is also the good news too. If our greatest challenges to becoming the best we can be are the characteristics that lay inside us, than they are completely under our control to change. We can improve our bad habits, we can eliminate our distractions. When we hear people say things like “I would get more done but I always end up binge watching Netflix.” Ask ourselves, is the problem Netflix, or the individuals inability to stay focused and limit their television time?

Sticking with this example, people would spend more time trying to change Netflix instead addressing their own inability to save television viewing until they have completed the tasks they need to. It is not Netflix fault you sit down and watch 3 hours of programing in a row. Oh, they do things that make that very easy. That is definitely true. We still have the power to discipline ourselves not to pick up the remote until our days work is done. If we work really hard, we can develop the strength to pick it up and push ‘off’ after one episode.

If you want to beat your most intense competition, do not look in the cubicle or house next to you. Your greatest competition looks back at you in the mirror every day!

THE PATH TO PROGRESS

It is Friday and the last thing most of us want to hear about is any type of work to be done. That is understandable. In this quote, however, lies the key to any kind of progress we wish to make. Many of us seek the mystical path. We are looking for the latest life hacks. We read all of the metaphysical books and do all of the meditations. There is nothing wrong with any of that. I do many of those things myself.

Here is the truth about how to make progress in any endeavor. I warn you, it is not sexy or exciting. There are no complicated formulas to master or spells to cast. You do not have to wonder in the woods naked during a full moon. Consequently, you will not have to apply anti-itch medicine to your body the day after the full moon, but I digress. The secret is that progress comes from daily, consistent action. Common sense huh? It may be, yet how many of us search for a fad diet instead of eating healthy daily or taking daily physical exercise?

Before I lose you all together with the diet and exercise thing, let me assure you that it is ok to look for shortcuts or life hacks. Here is the caveat to that. Look for those shortcuts while you are putting in the daily effort. You may be shocked to find the level of improvement that can be mastered by daily action. Most people underestimate the change they can achieve by doing this. We are not talking about spending the entire day in the gym every day. We are not talking about living on brown rice and chicken breast. What we are saying is that you put in some effort, daily, towards your goal. Take this blog for example. Some days I write several posts. Like I am doing today. Some days I just share ones that I have written the day before. Some are devoted to marketing this site to new people and markets. There is daily effort towards putting out the best product. What goals are you working on that could be moved along with daily effort? Are you putting it in?

SOLVE 80% OF YOUR PROBLEMS

Remember that doing the right thing once in a while is not what will take you to the top. Want to get healthy? You don’t go to the gym, or workout once and then you are done. You need to show up and take care of your body every day. Want to improve your diet? It is not a fad diet, but improving your relationship with food that works.

These are obvious examples. If you think of other important areas of your life the same holds true. Want to be a better spouse? It is respecting and learning about your partner every day. It is showing up and working hard at it. Same with career. The same goes for self-improvement. It is showing up daily. Winning the daily battle against laziness and procrastination. Discipline is what will solve 80% of your problems

DISCIPLINE BUILDS WHAT MOTIVATION CAN’T 💪

Being a big fan of motivation, this quote holds extra sway. Motivation can inspire action. It is like a match that lights a fire. The tricky bit about motivation is that it varies. It can be up one day and be quite hard to find on another day. If we only did things when we felt motivated to do so, our lives would be a lot worse off. Can you imagine what your bank account would look like if you only went to work when you felt like it? How about if you only paid the electric bill when you felt motivated to do so? The house would probably be pretty dark.

Motivation can lead us down the wrong path on occasion. Like in the picture above. You may be motivated to eat half a pizza because it tastes good. If you follow doing what feels pleasurable in the moment, you can be in for a lifetime of regret and consequences. If you have the discipline to eat things that fuel your body and not just your tastebuds, you may not have the momentary joy, but you will have a long-term reward of good health. Here is the unfortunate truth, people will often discourage you from making good choices making discipline even more difficult. You will hear things such as “One bad meal won’t make that much difference.” or “You went to the gym a couple days ago. You deserve some rest.” Momentary pleasure can lead to a lifetime of regret.

Another reason to choose discipline over motivation is that it is not dependent on the opinions of others. If doing the right action for you depends on the applause and encouragement of others, what do you do when you are alone? We should work on being able to do the right thing when nobody is applauding us. Often, we can find criticism coming in our direction when we are working on discipline. Hearing things such as, “He is not at fun as he used to be. Never goes to the club and is always at the gym.” Months and years later when you are healthy and enjoying life, and their liver is shot, suddenly they may not think ‘living for the moment’ is so fun.

I am not advocating doing away with anything fun in your life. We need escapes in this stressful world. What I am cautioning against is becoming a slave to pleasure or relying on motivation to take the actions you know you need to take. Motivation is great and I encourage you to get as much of it into your life as you can. I have many great ways to do so here on this site and in my 3 books. While you are looking for ways to keep you motivated, make sure to work on your self-discipline. It will take over when motivation is no place to be found.

2 PART SUCCESS FORMULA 🙌

When pursuing success, many of us can overcomplicate things. The simple formula outlined above will get us wherever we want to go. It all starts with discipline. You must be able to say ‘no’ to the things that take you further from your goal and ‘yes’ to the things that bring you closer. That can be very difficult when that warm slice of pizza takes you further away, and going out in the cold to go to the gym is what brings you closer. It takes a strong will to be able to do this. As simple as it is, it is not easy.

The second part is even tougher patience, or consistency, which means doing the discipline over and over again. Even when you do not feel like it. Even when you do not see any signs that it is not working. That is how we improve. Let us say you are trying to improve your relationship. You are putting in the effort. Working on becoming a better listener. You are being more romantic. Still, your partner seems not to appreciate your efforts. It can be tempted to think they are not working and go back to having nightly shouting matches. What you may not know is that they are not fully able to trust your actions as genuine. Maybe they are working through their own feelings. The possibilities are endless really.

Being disciplined is hard. Being patient and working consistently may be even more difficult. You must know if you stick with these two actions, they will take you anywhere you want to go. The timing may be longer than you would like, but get there you will. Even if you seem to face setback after setback, that is all part of the journey. The more you get out of the way, the closer you are to achieving your goal. Write or print out this formula. Put it up somewhere you will see it daily. Work on your patience and your discipline. They will be the tools you need to build a successful life.

WAKE UP! 😳

We are at the end of the first full week of the new year. How are those goals coming? Have you fallen victim to the millions of distractions in the world? Before you realize it, they can have you sleeping on your goals and dreams! What can you do about that? Don’t worry, we have a simple solution in mind.

When you fall asleep at night, how do manage to get back up and get back at it? You set an alarm! That is precisely what you should do to stick to your goals. I don’t care if it is to eat healthier, exercise more or spend time meditating. This little tip will work for them all.

Pick a time you can rely on. Set an alarm on your phone. If you have the option, add a few words of encouragement or reminder of your goals. Here is the key. Then take at least one action. Eat a healthy meal or snack. Food prep. Do 20 squats or meditate for 5 minutes. If you start making this a daily habit it will increase your chances for success! An easy way to do this is to simply set an alarm to remind you. Just remember to always take an action. It will provide you with momentum and you will be halfway to success!

NEW YEAR, OR ANOTHER YEAR? 🤔

This is one of those quotes that really call us out. We can have all the resolutions and grand goals we can think of, but if we don’t change the small things we do daily, nothing will change. It can be hard to change a habit that you are used to. I get that. One thing that may help is having a handy quote to say to yourself.

Saying “New year or another year?” When you are tempted not to follow through on a new discipline can have you stop and think. Margie found a quote we say to each other now, “Don’t put it down, put it away.” Taking a few seconds to put something back can save you from a feeling of overwhelm when you have a room full of stuff to put away later.

Have you come across a quote like this that you can use as a mantra to help you stick to your goals? I recall hearing one of my favorite fitness people I follow online, Greg Plitt (R.I.P) remind us that our names are attached to our actions. If you drop a piece of trash on the ground you pick it up because that represents who you are. Excellence is not a one time event. It is what we do everyday.

Share a quote that inspires you to be your best!

SECRET TO STAYING DISCIPLINED 🤫

Discipline is one of the great keys to success. With enough discipline, you can accomplish any goal you are striving after. It takes discipline to get in shape. It takes discipline to fix your eating. Trust me when I tell you that it takes a great deal of discipline to write a book. Even doing these blogs everyday would not be possible without a degree of discipline. One of the trickiest things is how to stay disciplined. We all know the power of discipline, sticking to it is the difficult part. Being disciplined in our discipline.

The quote above provides a good tool to do just that. Think of someone who believes in you. It could be your parents, your spouse or a really good friend. Can you picture them professing their belief to others? How would we feel making them look like fools just because our lack of discipline? Many of us will do more for those we care about than for ourselves. Discipline is no different. If your goals and the fact that you can achieve anything with enough discipline doesn’t fire you up, maybe this will.

If you are finding it difficult to stay disciplined, first take a hard look at your ‘why’. Why is what you are doing so important to you? That may be the issue. If you remind yourself of your ‘why’ and it is strong enough, you should have no problem staying disciplined. If, however, you still find yourself unable to stay focused on the tasks you need to do, consider the fact you will be letting down those who believe in you. These people are usually the ones closest to us. Nobody wants insult or make a fool of those they care about. This alone may keep us disciplined.

SEPARATE YOURSELF 💪

This picture says a lot. In today’s world, everyone is looking for a quick fix. The latest trend is weight loss injections. No doubt there is some benefit for those whose weight is causing a health emergency, but that is not who seems to be the majority of who is taking it. As a society we are looking for a quick fix. Nobody wants to spend months adjusting their behavior and eating style. Why would you when there is a shot you can take that will do it for you? There are several very important reasons. Let us take a look at a few.

One of the main reasons is the complications these medications can create. There are now stories of individuals suing the makers of these drugs because they will no longer be able to eat regular food, as in the rest of their life. I am sure these cases of negative reactions are far and few between, but that is too much of a risk for me to take. Another reason is what you fail to gain by taking the ‘easy way out’. It takes discipline, control over our own urges and emotions to change our diet and lifestyle. Gaining control over our minds when it comes to eating healthy and being consistent in our workouts will transfer positively into the rest of our lives. You could be more disciplined at work. You could control your emotions in your relationship. These benefits would serve you well.

Lastly, there is the feeling of accomplishment. Engaging in the above discipline will give us something to be proud of. The inner health we accomplish through the discipline of fitness on a consistent level is something to be proud of. Where as taking an injection has both risks, and little in return of health and feelings of accomplishment.

In any endeavor, there is the easy way to get ahead and there is the right way. Very rarely are these two things the same. You could see some benefits when it comes to taking the easy way, but that is usually in the short term and at a cost. Doing things the right way may seem more difficult and take much longer, but what you gain and who you become is what makes all the difference.