GOT A SELF-DISCIPLINE PROBLEM ??

Troubles with self-discipline ?
Do you think you may be lacking the iron will and the follow-through to get where you want?

Before we get into self-discipline specifically, it is important that you're first checked in with yourself to make sure that you are truly suffering from a self-discipline problem. Very often, what might appear as a self-discipline problem may actually be a question of confused motivation or incomplete committment. Self-discipline usually becomes a problem with respect to certain goals you would like to attain (weight loss, taking up sports or investing in a hobby, saving, cleaning the house, quitting smoking) that sort of thing?

Well, in order to succeed, you need to make sure you are really, unwaiveringly committed to your goals. Otherwise, when the going gets tough, you will cave.
So what are your goals? Are they imposed on you from outside, or are they really truly yours ?
If they are yours, any waivering on your part is actually cheating yourself!

You may also want to consult for help on a particular issue. No matter what goals you would like to attain, chances are there is someone out there who's cracked the best way of dealing with a problem.
For example, in my kickboxing fights, I always have a weight category to respect. For a long time I had a really hard time making weight. I would try every diet, and end up hungry or lacking energy. I wasn't missing self-discipline, but I was doing the equivalent of trying to win the Tour de France bike race with a low-tech bike. My objective seemed to get further and further away no matter how hard I peddled!

I finally consulted a nutritionist. She put me on a program that boosted my energy and got me losing weight. It was great!
But had I continued banging my head against the wall with my old, non-effective method of dieting, I'd still be frustrated and doubtful of my capacity for self-discipline. The real problem, though, was knowledge.

When you are trying to break habits or make a change, there is probably some knowledge out there that can make the switch easier. Why not consult and expert?

So, basically, you should check in with yourself to make sure your self-discipline problem is really that, and not a lack of knowledge, or a lack of committment with respect to your goals. If self-discipline truly is your problem, here is something you can try!


Like other facets of your mind and body, your capacity for self-discipline can be trained. There are three steps to this process, according to Roberto Assagioli M.D., Italian psychoanalyst. In the preparation phase, the warrior engages in a process of visualization. She imagines the possible negative outcomes that may ensue from a low level of self-discipline . These consequences could include harm done to self or others . Consequences may simply be a life of mediocrity, or else a continuation of some undesirable state of affairs. The picture of what your life will look like if you are unable to commit fully should be as complete as possible. The more repulsive the picture, the more likely you are to avoid it!

Next, picture yourself living with the fruits of a strong commitment. These results might be anything from weight-loss, to winning your next big fight, or addressing a social- or work- issue that you've been avoiding. Get specific! If you can taste and smell the results, you'll be compelled to train and try hard!

The third step is to carry out exercises to train your ability to be self-disciplined. Such exercises are a lot like training the body through sprints or push-ups. The aim is to get your discipline- muscles into shape little by little.
“[Be] systematically heroic every day in little unnecessary things; do something every other day, for the sole and simple reason that it is difficult and you would prefer not to do it, so that when the cruel hour of danger strikes, you will not be unnerved or unprepared. Self-discipline of this kind is similar to the insurance that one pays on one's house and on one's possessions. To pay the premium is not pleasant and possibly may never serve us, but should it happen that our house were burnt, the payment will save us from ruin” (William James, Talks to Teachers-New York, Holt, 1912, pp. 75-76).

Dr. Assogioli suggests things as far out as standing on a chair for ten minutes a day, and being happy about it! He also recommends putting one hundred little pieces of paper into a box, one by one without hurrying.

This may see a bit eccentric. But all around you, there are more prosaic and useful ways to train your ability to be disciplined. There are probably hundreds of either difficult or tedious things you've been avoiding! Doing dishes, washing the floor, returning phone calls, or confronting someone – all these can serve as trial ground for being disciplined and committed. The crux is that you get comfortable with executing tasks that are unappealing. In this way, when you meet a situation that really does require self-discipline, you'll be prepared!

Serious physical training is pretty similar. Increased performance happens for two reasons. Of course your body gets stronger, but your mind also gets better at resisting discomfort. If you've done any kind of weight- or resistance training you'll have noticed this phenomenon. At first, when you start on an exercise, your progression in number of repetitions or in weight lifted is much faster than your muscles' potential for growth. Your brain actually gets better at pushing! Your mind becomes able to differentiate mild discomfort from the pain associated with not being able to push any further. Training in self-discipline is the same. You actually have more willpower than you think! It's just a matter of teaching your brain how and where to apply pressure.