Personalize Discipline
What is Discipline and what is it made of.
“Doing what you said you would do long after the mood you set them in has left” Unknown
My definition of Discipline is that it is an intersection or a relationship between four basic elements
- Goals
- Willpower
- Habits
- Drive
Goal - First off, there needs to be a goal. There is more to discipline than habit or willpower. There needs to be a bigger reason that drives
your actions. A purpose or something you
want to achieve. Whether it be to lose
weight, get healthy, move into a new industry or establish a career there needs
to be an overarching purpose to your actions to give them meaning and
direction. That is the purpose that the Goal provides.
Willpower - The next
component is Willpower. This is the fuel
in the engine of discipline. By this I
mean that it takes energy to establish and keep the discipline practice
going. Willpower is that energy. But like any fuel it is finite, it has a
limit and it can be run out. [Learn More
Willpower, Choice and Self-Control - http://psycnet.apa.org/record/2003-06265-006]
This is where you see discipline faulter.
But this fuel can be conserved, and it can be rejuvenated. I will do a follow-up article on this concept
as it is larger than the scope of this main topic.
Habits - Once you
have a goal in mind and a full tank of enthusiasm most people charge right in
to the powering through. With the limits
of willpower, the goal loses its luster, willpower falters and the goal is
abandoned. What can we do to change this cycle you might ask…? I propose that the answer is to establish
good HABITS. By GOOD habits I mean the
ones that reinforce the desire to reach our goal. These habits we create can march us to our
goal. Establishing these habits is a short-term
goal that puts action in the realm or range of our willpower. We exert the willpower to CHOOSE to establish
this habit that moves us one step closer to our overall goal. This might be something like replacing sugary
sodas for water and getting in the habit of doing so consistently. It can be going for a walk daily for someone
trying to be healthier. These are not
earth shattering tasks, but the willpower demanded to establish them is not depleting
either. The more you do to establish the
habit the less willpower is required to maintain it. Thus, conserving it for the next step in the
progression of creating discipline.
Drive - This last
step is Drive. The Purpose for this
whole consistency dance is to ACHIEVE A GOAL.
Beyond the willpower to create and maintain a set of habits that lead us
to our goal is the desire to continue the process of adding more habits and
exerting willpower in a new direction to build the habit portfolio that will
lead to your goal. The Japanese call
this process “Kai Zen” which means continuous improvement. Using our examples, once you have a good
habit of choosing water over sugary sodas, you now exert your willpower to, let’s
say, eat a more balanced meal. Our other
example, once you are walking each day and it takes less effort to talk
yourself into it or to resist the temptation of not going, maybe you extend the
walk, or you add weights to the walk.
This takes DRIVE. The purposeful long-term
endeavor to fulfill the goal in your life through the purposeful, incremental application
of willpower to master a new habit to create the pattern of consistency that is
what we know of as Discipline.
Why is Discipline important
Discipline
is not easy. Nothing worth having is ever
easy. What discipline can do for you is
provide you what the military calls a “force multiplier”. The energy you put in pays back
exponentially. It is the pattern that
allows you to make daily choices consistently to move towards your goal. Discipline helps to work actively against the
chaos of life.
“you string those together and it starts to create a day of efficient action” – Kai Greene
In an interview with Katie Regal, Events Coordinator for Nevada Psychiatric Association (www.nvpsychiatry.org),
it’s a strategy that allows you to stick to your process when there is nobody
checking on you, when there is no outside stimulus or oversight. It provides
you a way to weather the storms of temptation that are often visited upon us. The process of re-evaluating these habits
gives us a framework to identify and address poor or destructive habits that we
may develop. Katie mentioned that the bad habits are hard
to break, good habits hard to make and therefore are best if preserved
especially in times when habits can be disrupted.
Consistency can
translate into respect from peers. It can
translate into a reputation of dependability.
You are a person that is more in command of their actions and emotions
primarily because the energy to stay in command is more readily available
because it is not being wasted on weathering the storms of temptation and chaos
that can surround us. These habits we build
help to stabilize our day by replacing daily decisions with habits that are
easily remembered and repeated. Making
lunch the day before and setting out your stuff for the next day, for example,
eliminates the lunch time temptations and the odd forgotten keys or bus pass
that can throw your day off kilter.
Learn more and as always please share. Drop a comment. Tell us what you do as your discipline, in your job and in your personal life
Learn more and as always please share. Drop a comment. Tell us what you do as your discipline, in your job and in your personal life
The secret to self-control - Jonathan Bricker TEDx Rainier https://youtu.be/tTb3d5cjSFI
Develop DISCIPLINE - Evan Carmichael https://youtu.be/Gp22rsIVwlM
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