Self-discipline, at its core, is a habit.
Self-discipline, at its core, is a habit.
Anything that we repeat (practice), becomes easier. That action becomes the path of least resistance.
If we’ve practiced slacking off, giving up, or quitting when things get hard, it will also take practice to train ourselves to do the opposite.
The reason some people make self-discipline look easy, is the same reason your yoga teacher makes certain poses look easy.
Practice. Repetition.
It’s not that they were able to execute that advanced arm balance pose perfectly the very first time they attempted it.
It’s that you are seeing the result of (usually) HUNDREDS of repetitions. Hundreds of failures, but the discipline and resolve to keep trying.
It’s easy to make excuses. There are always sooo many external factors that you could blame for why you can’t.
Self-discipline recognizes those excuses for what they are- hurdles, not definitive truth.
Self-discipline is like a muscle, and you can train yours.
The structure that most of us who struggle with self-discipline were raised in, didn’t help us.
That’s another reason why it might feel more difficult to achieve.
Some adults have been able to witness & practice self-discipline since they were itty bitty kids.
Chances are, you weren’t one of them. It’s probably safe for me to assume that you didn’t have the best circumstances or role models.
It’s probably also safe to assume, that you have been in survival mode since before you can even remember.
Self-discipline requires delayed gratification AND the ability to think about your future self.
It requires making choices that feel hard in the moment, but actually make your future easier.
But, when you’re in survival mode, self discipline is WAY harder to practice.
Survival mode forces us to look only at what is urgent and requires the least amount of effort, in order to conserve energy that you nervous system thinks it will need to handle the threat.
When the “threat” is always present, you never really get that chance to focus on anything except what is right in front of you.
You can’t think about two years from now when you’re barely making it through the day.
Unfortunately, the time passes anyway.
You wake up and two years have passed. Or an entire decade has passed.
Your current life reflects the choices and habits that you’ve been practicing- consciously or unconsciously.
This is where I come in. In my one-on-one programs, I help you form and implement that habits that you need to practice to steer your trajectory in the direction that you want it.
I hold you accountable during that fragile window of habit formation that so many can’t get through on their own.
I give you the external boundary and consistency that your lacking, until you don’t need it anymore.
Until it becomes just a part of who you are.
We base our choices and actions on who we think we are- how we identify ourselves
As we make better choices, and do harder things, we start seeing ourselves differently.
This opens up endless possibilities.
Our internal narrative shifts from “I could never do something like that” to “Oh, I could totally do something like that.”
That’s when all the doors that were previously locked start to open for us. That’s when the chains that we’ve kept ourselves in start to break free. It all starts with a choice to take responsibility, forget the excuses, and make a new choice.