Chapter 1-Discipline is Something YOU DO

Discipline is Something YOU DO

There are many misconceptions regarding discipline. A lot of people confuse it with other personal traits. What is discipline anyway? I have given you an earlier definition, but we’re going to drill deeper in this section.

Discipline involves action. It really boils down to what you do and what you choose not to do. This is the most practical way to frame discipline based on how people actually perform.

Discipline is the ability to do things that you’d rather avoid. These are necessary things. These are things that can take your life to the next level. These are things that can set you up for greater success in life. These are the things that would resolve a lot of personally difficult issues, but most people would rather avoid them.

Let’s face it, if given a choice between emotional confrontation and just letting sleeping dogs lie, most people would take the latter. That’s just human nature. Discipline gives you the ability to attack these things head-on.

Discipline also gives you the ability to do what you have committed to doing no matter how inconvenient or uncomfortable. If you have given your word to somebody and you have promised to do something, discipline enables you to follow through. You may not feel like it, it may not be all that convenient, in fact, it might even be a major hassle, but if you are a disciplined person, you will come through each and every time.

How come? You have given your word. You have committed to that person. As you can well imagine, this can help build a reputation.

Let’s face it, most people would rather flake. Most people would get wobbly and eventually just drop out. It doesn’t really matter if they have given you their word. It doesn’t really matter if they made all sorts of promises. At the end of the day, it all boils down to whether they are willing to stick to their promises, regardless of how inconvenient it is, or whether they just take the path of least resistance.

This brings me to the next point. Discipline also involves the ability to stick to a course of action, even if you’re busy or you don’t feel like it. You would be able to stick to something that you have committed to, even if you feel like you don’t have the time.

Discipline also involves patience in relationships. Let’s get one thing clear, the person that you’re with is in your life for a reason. Of the 100 different traits that make up that person, you probably love 90 to 95 of them, but there are 5 traits that you really hate. This requires patience.

Everybody is a work in progress. None of us are perfect. If you want your relationship to blossom and survive, you have to be disciplined.

Finally, most people have principles, but not everybody is willing to stick to them. Not everybody is willing to sacrifice for them. When you have discipline, you find the strength to stick to principles. It may not be popular, it definitely may not be convenient, but you will stick to it anyway.

This builds character. This also builds a reputation because you stick out like a sore thumb.

Most people would rather abandon their principles at the most convenient or most opportune period. Few and far between are people who are willing to stick to something because of personal principles. This requires discipline.

The Different Types of Discipline

What are the different types of discipline out there and why do these matter? Well, discipline is a broad concept that can be acted out or exercised. However, it’s a good idea to classify this ability depending on certain areas of your life.

There are slight differences in these types of discipline. For example, there is mental discipline. If you’re a mentally disciplined person, you are able to process information in a focused way.

It’s very easy to slack off. It’s very easy to kick the can down the road or postpone things. It’s definitely very easy to procrastinate. When you’re a mentally disciplined person, you can focus on tasks that you need to do as well as information that you need to process, and go all the way through.

It’s hard for you to get distracted. It’s hard for you to take a detour and lose focus. People who are looking to learn a trade or excel in school need a tremendous amount of mental discipline to become successful.

The next type of discipline is emotional discipline. This is a very practical form of discipline because every day we are going to find ourselves in certain touchy situations. Maybe somebody said something that offended you. Maybe you did something that was embarrassing. Whatever the case may be, there will always be situations where we will get on the wrong side of people.

It takes quite a bit of discipline to ignore our raw emotional state and focus on doing the right thing. Sometimes, when somebody pushes you, the best way forward is to just brush it off. It would have been so much more emotionally gratifying if you were to smack that person around, but if you were to do that, you must be ready to pay the consequences of that action.

Emotional discipline also involves your memories. If you’re like most normal people, I’m sure there is somebody in your past that triggers or evokes strong emotions. You can’t help but feel sad, enraged or feel guilty once you start thinking about that memory.

If you are a very emotionally disciplined person, you would be able to separate the thought from the emotional baggage it has. This enables you to preserve an even-handed disposition. You are more likely to make better decisions, you are more likely to preserve your relationships, you’re more likely to be more optimistic about the future.

Next is physical discipline. This involves day-to-day decisions and behavioral patterns involving your body. If you are overweight, you know that you have physical discipline issues. You know that you should eat less and move around more.

Now, it’s easy to intellectually accept these ideas, it’s another matter entirely to actually carry them out. And physical discipline is really all about exercising full control and ownership of your body so you can be healthier and enjoy greater well-being.

Let’s face it, your physical decisions now can have a major impact on the quality of your life as well as the length of your life. Physical discipline also involves habits like smoking, drinking or drugs. If you apply discipline to the things that you do with your body, you can increase the quality of your life outcomes.

You don’t have to die an early death. You don’t have to develop cancer. You can decrease your chances of developing Type II diabetes. There are just so many great practical health effects of physical discipline.

Finally, there’s sexual discipline. It doesn’t really matter whether you’re married or single. When you interact with people, there will be instances of sexual temptation.

It doesn’t matter whether you are in a “committed relationship” or not, you have to practice sexual discipline. This is especially challenging if you are single.

Make no mistake, practicing sexual discipline not only has a profound impact on your health because you get to avoid all sorts of socially transmitted diseases, but it also impacts your relationships. Because let’s face it, friendships get awkward and often change for the worse when sex enters the picture.

Also, in the United States and elsewhere, there is a heightened sensitivity to sexual harassment and gender relationships in the workplace and in school. So by exercising more discipline on the sexual side of your persona, you can actually prevent all sorts of unnecessary drama that can haunt you for a long, long time.

Every Day is an Opportunity to Become More Disciplined

As I’ve mentioned in the introduction to this book, I’m going to teach you how to become more disciplined on a practical level.

This book is short on theory and speculation. Instead, it’s focused on taking every opportunity you have on a day-to-day basis and making the best out of them to develop discipline.

Make no mistake, every single day is packed with opportunities to become more disciplined. It also begins with the moment you wake up.

The moment you wake up, you can choose to press the snooze button on your alarm clock to get ten more minutes of sleep, or you can take that opportunity to wake up. It doesn’t matter if you feel good about it, it doesn’t matter if you’re feeling groggy, it doesn’t matter whether you’re suffering from some sort of brain fog. You just commit to waking up at a certain time. That is an opportunity.

Similarly, you can choose to screw around in the breakfast area of your home until it’s time to get into your car and head to work. Alternatively, you can take that time to run or walk around the block to get some exercise. That is an opportunity.

Similarly, if you find yourself waiting, for example, you’re stuck in traffic or you’re waiting in a line at a bank, this is an opportunity to practice discipline. You can easily do things in a way where you waste your time, or you can do other things that will build up your personal value.

For example, if you find yourself stuck in traffic and you’re a carpool passenger, you may want to build up your intellectual capabilities and value by whipping out a book or listening to audiobooks, or you can play video games. Do you see how this works?

Also, when you come across people and you make a promise, sticking to that decision is an opportunity to build discipline. Sure, you’re busy and there are just so many other things that you could be doing. You’d be easily forgiven for just blowing off whatever commitments you’ve made. But if you took the opportunity to stick to a decision, your reputation improves.

Let’s face it, there are a lot of flakes out there. There are a lot of people that are not all that trustworthy. And if you are that person who people can say is reliable, your reputation improves. Chances are, people would entrust you with more responsibility. Chances are, people would seek you out if they need some sort of advice.

Another daily opportunity simply involves showing up on time. If you are the type of person who shows up fifteen minutes early to any appointment or to your work, this highlights your character. You’re a very professional person. Your word is your bond. People can rely on you. This also means that you come prepared.

Finally, if you come across unpleasant people, maybe somebody cussed at you when you were trying to park your car or your boss is being mean to you, these unpleasant and uncomfortable situations can be golden opportunities to build your discipline.

It’s very easy to just honk your horn at the other guy and cuss back at him. It’s very easy to play a passive-aggressive game with your boss. But if you were to avoid the quick and easy and focus instead on the hard and necessary, you may be setting yourself up for greater success later on.