For example, I’m up at 5:15am on a Saturday morning typing this before I go exercise. When I was less disciplined, I would have slept in. But these changes were gradual over a period of years, with many attempts that failed before I was finally able to “lift” this weight. And after having reached this point, there are still more steps to take to become stronger in this area. It’s a lifelong process that requires hard work and patience. However, the ultimate payoff of self-mastery is well worth the effort. Self-mastery is a process though, not a destination.

Regarding my question above (gradually vs. suddenly), I understand your point. But what if my specifc goals is self-discipline. I have been trying to discipline myself, but after making a little progress, I usually slip back to old ways. This has become some sort of a barrier for me. Can some sort of overwhelming force be applied to that situation ? Or would you suggest I should be patient and keep trying?

Rgds, Kamal

Today I went to the bookstore (it is a quite small bookstore by US standards) and read the titles of all the books in the self-improvement section.

I think there are about 100 books. I was looking for a book on happyness – how to create it.

Guess what – out of 100 books, only one was about happyness, and about 2 others about depression. The rest of the 97 books were mostly about achieving goals in general or about achieving a particular goal (losing weight, finding a boyfriend or a girlfriend, etc).

So.. I think that what is missing right now is not more stuff about achieving goals (altough they are useful, and your posts have certainly been very good) but more stuff about achieving happyness.

I really get a rush by just going for a lot of gutsy goals that I’m not sure if I’ll be able to pull off, and I think it helps me to perform better too. In reality, I expect that at least some of the commitments I’ve recently made will go well and ultimately — even if if I fail in some — I’ll be better off for doing this.

In your earlier series on self-discipline you advocated increasing the “weights” gradually, not suddenly. Are you now suggesting that if gradually does not work, try suddenly ? Maybe I have totally misunderstood you here, some clarification will be of help to me.

I’m currently taking two classes which end the first week of October. Both classes have papers that need completed prior to the final. One class requires a mammoth syntactical, grammatical, exegetical, and theological study on a chunk of Bible verses (we’re talking 20 pages miniumum). The other class has two papers, both which require a cultural and historical study, as well as interpretative study, of two separate Bible chapters. Early this month I sat down and asked myself, “What would be the best way to get these done quickly? Could I get all three done in a week?”

A week, you say? A week. First I decided to devote one entire Saturday to the library. No girlfriend, no friends, etc.; just the library from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. with a lunch and dinner break. Then I decided that I needed to have all my food and snacks bought ahead of time and with me; also, I would make copies of all my source material instead of transcribing notes from reading. I work a part-time job that gets out at 2:00 every day, and it takes me 45 minutes to get from work to my school’s library. So I decided at the outset that I would again arrange with my girlfriend to see her next week, dropped all social activities, and would use the library from 3:00 to 10:30 every weekday.

My goal was to have all three papers done by the following Saturday, even using the second Saturday if needed. Well, it’s Friday as I type this, and as of last night I finished all three papers. Unbelievable! When I was an undergraduate, I thought you needed weeks to write a good paper. Now I see it was just a matter of organization. My mammoth paper exceeded the expected limits and is over 30 pages; I finished that in three days. Papers 2 and 3 were finished in a day each. I’ve got two extra days left to focus on other things now. It feels great.

Little did I know it, but I was incorporating overwhelming force. And it worked!

If you haven’t read Steve’s previous 5-part series on Self Discipline, it’s an excellent (and in-depth) companion to this article. I would use “overwhelming force” during the “willpower” phase, to break out of existing habits and to establish a beach-head for sustainable, continued improvement.

Overwhelming force clearly isn’t sustainable beyond the short term, but it’s an excellent technique to get started. That burst of progress can also provide visible benefits, which gives a great psychological boost.

I would also caution against running more than 1 willpower-driven project at once (or even 2 in a row, without a month or so of rest in between). They take a LOT of energy and often need to constantly occupy a portion of my brain 24/7 while the project is in progress. Pick your projects carefully, and only commit fully when you’re prepared to.

For example, I have a project for natural vision improvement queued up for attention. I’m planning to hit it with a few weeks of “overwhelming force” to kickstart the project with. But it’s going to take 2+ hours of commitment every day during that phase. I’m not going to even try to start until I’m willing and able to commit that amount of time.