1. What is self discipline?
Self discipline is said to be one of the 'holy trinity of getting things done', the others being motivation and productivity/work related skills and techniques.
Self discipline arises from us finding our purpose/vision/mission, and then it becomes 'doing the things you should'.
Self discipline is different from self-control in the sense that self-control is 'not doing things you shouldn't.'
2. Good discipline begets good habits.
When we are motivated, we know the skills and productivity needed to do the job, and we are self-disciplined, we are also able to form good habits.
3. How to develop your self discipline
- Self discipline arises from finding the purpose, 'the why'. Purpose comes from our inner convictions as well as from external stimulus such as the things we read/see/hear, the company we keep, among other things.
- Once you find your purpose/vision/mission, you must start doing stuff.
Start doing little things. As we said earlier, good habits take time to form. You have to keep doing the small things, learns from the small failure as well as the wins.
Self discipline doesn't get its nourishment from theory. It needs action.
Writers often start to write 'a page a day' , which helps them get into a book-finishing mode.
In short, don't bite more than you can chew, or it will try to destroy your self-discipline.
- Engage tools and people to help you with your work done.
Move in the right company. Get help from experts. Learn up on relevant skills. Work in places where you can't hide your lack of progress/discipline. Some brave people openly lay out their plan public, schedule and all, making sure people will poke when they get lazy.
Someone even said, 'environment trumps discipline.'
4. How motivation and self-discipline work together
In a popular talk, the famous comedian John Cleese (of Monty Python fame) explained how motivation is for the 'open mode' (the blue sky, blank sheet of paper period), and discipline for the 'closed mode' where we put your head down and get the work done.
He also meant that our self-discipline pushes us through when our motivation flags.
I read someone rightly say that 'motivation (may) make you go downhill faster, but discipline is what gets you uphill and most of the times you'll be going uphill.'
This may well be one of the best lines in this guide.
Thank you for reading.
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