SELF DISCIPLINE: What does it mean to you?

[SerbianSausage]

SELF DISCIPLINE:

One of my favourite things!

Self Discipline isn't making your whole life into something resembling prison or military life where every second is planned and accounted for, but is simply making a commitment to do something (usually the same thing day in day out) and to keep it. No wimpy excuses.

That separates the 95% of average from the 5% of exceptional folk. If it was easy everyone would be disciplined and successful but we all know that that isn't true - only around 5-10% of people manage it consistently.

Steve's 30 Day experiments are the best example of building self discipline. You build a habit by doing it every day until it becomes effortless. I really think this is one of the great techniques - and these "experiments" nearly always yield tangible results.

Cases in point
Savings: I made a commitment in late 2005 to save 10% of my after tax income. I get paid monthly so had to pay myself every month; difficult to do the few first months but now it's effortless. Also, I found that as I started to save I actually got better at making money. This year I have had several paychecks between $8,000 and $10,000 (after tax) and putting away $800-1,000 in savings hasn't fazed me. Result: about $18,000 in savings which earns $90 per month in interest through my ING Direct Savings Maximiser.

Keeping Tidy
As a teenager and growing up in a very untidy home, I had terrible habits of not washing dishes and of leaving things lying around - amongst other things. After reading a Jim Rohn article again in 2005 about self discipline, I resolved to wash up immedately after a meal and to hang my suit up as soon as I got in from work - for 30 days. Formerly I would drape it on a chair or over a bed. Well......now I literally can't imagine NOT washing up or hanging up my clothes. The very thought of not keeping my house in good order sends shivers up my spine!

Coffee:
This was very tough. After trying about 7 or 8 times, I managed to give up coffee on 6th June 2006 and I have not touched any since. This has to be one of the hardest things I have ever done. I only had 2 espressos per day, but I was very addicted; I know this because when I tried to stop - my body would shut down and I would get pounding headaches. However, I couldn't bear the thought of being a slave to the bean for the rest of my life so held on and after about a week the withdrawal subsided. Now I sleep so much better, have consistent energy throughout the day and have even greater self discipline that I can apply to other endeavours.

I would encourage anyone to get disciplined. In fact, self discipline coupled with proper use of thought control/visualization is the only technique that has ever given me any meaningful results. I have no interest in "feel good" books or anything like that; the extent to which your external reality changes puts the potency of the techniques and your own application of them to the test.

I would be really interested to know how other users here have already benefited from applying self discipline and purging bad habits. Only actual results that you've already achieved though....not those which are yet to be achieved!

Just get it done!

[Jim11]

The only way I usually achieve self-discipline is through rules and strict adherence to them. They don't have to be complex and must be manageable

In 2005 I resolved to read a minimum of 20 minutes each day (non school, non fluff). The amount was deliberately short because I know that I like to read but I often get side tracked and just don't get started. And once I get going reading something interesting it turns into 2 hours quickly. I have stuck to this without fail.

I think my key to discipline is setting REASONABLE goals that you don't have to make excuses to break, and sticking to them all the time... not "the majority of the time". Breaking a good habit once can be a slipper slope.

Serb, I understand your comment about coffee and not wanting to be a slave to it. I had to give up my 2 cup a day routine. It made a big difference.
I still drink coffee sometimes, but it's no longer habit, just sporadic.

As anyone who has tried to achieve self-discipline would know, there is much to it, and I could just sit here and type about it for 3 hours, so I'll stop there.

Jim

[siniy]

Being reasonable is a point. I often begin to set up multiply plans to achieve and then I begin to afraid of how much I need to do.

[SerbianSausage]

Hello Siniy,

You'll find that if you can set yourself a trifling task that you do daily for 30 days...like polishing your shoes every evening (this takes me exactly seven minutes), your self discipline muscle will then be strong enough to take on objectives requiring more discipline. Pavlina talks about this in his self discipline series.

The point that Jim11 is making is that you set yourself something that you will do daily, no matter how trifling, and do it without any excuses or wimping out. The important point is not the enormity of the task but the simple fact that you do it day in day out - whatever it happens to be.

Trust me, if you set yourself a little task to do every day - by the time you get to day 21 you will be gagging to complete the thirty days and experience the victory and won't even think about NOT doing it.

Good luck!

SerbianSausage