The work I am doing now requires more skills and discipline than I typically exert. It is especially taking more discipline because I’m working on a more concise writing style and my personal blogging deadlines are looming. At the same time, I am working with a renewed vigor on my training runs preparing for an upcoming 10 mile run. Eating well to run well is requiring more focus and discipline than I recently have been accustomed to.
All of this makes me think about discipline, and especially of the commonly held myths about discipline.
Discipline is Not Willpower
I remember reading a story about a guy who wanted to practice his guitar more. He put sticky notes on his calendar to remind him to play the guitar. Yet, after a busy day at work, he would come home, sit down, relax and watch TV, forgetting to play the guitar. One day, it dawned on him. He realized that the reason he wasn’t reaching for the guitar was that it was in his closet. He took his guitar out of the closet and placed it between the couch and the TV. He could not watch TV without moving his guitar out of the way. Pow! Instant improvement. He practiced the guitar every evening.
Discipline is Not Willpower
Discipline is setting up the perfect environment to achieve the goals you have.If you want the perfect book for this, read Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard, by Chip and Dan Heath. Switch tells us that it is so hard to make lasting change because there is a conflict that’s built into our brains. Our minds are ruled by two different systems—the rational mind and the emotional mind—each competing for control. My rational mind wants my body to be a fit, lean, running machine. My emotional mind wants to relax with a good book poolside and enjoy the rest of the day after a busy workday with clients.
If you have already read Switch but still haven’t changed your environment to accomplish what you want to do, then read it again.
Success Breeds Success
Start by finding something moderately challenging. Build the appropriate environment to succeed. Once you get into a steady flow of daily activities, you begin to expand your goals to accomplish something more.
The key is to put just enough pressure on yourself so that you feel challenged, yet not so much that you feel overwhelmed by the tasks. Gradually, without thinking about it much, you begin instinctively to make plans for more accomplishments. And this is what we call the beginnings of lifestyle change! I’m not referring to the tasks that are set initially that are contrived (such as with our guitar player whose goal it was just to practice daily). I am referring to the intricate webbing, endless adaptability, and fascinating transformations that takes place inside our heads when we accomplish what we set out to accomplish thereby automatically desiring to do better! For a fascinating read on the gap between science and self-help, Norman Doidge, M.D.in his book, The Brain That Changes Itself, expands in great detail on the stories of personal triumph and how the science of the brain can be utilized to better ourselves.
Back To the Guitar Player
Remember that guitar player? He had an original goal to practice more. He set a time to practice. He practiced his guitar. He stopped. No pressure – just doing the time. What we don’t see going on in his brain is the increasing desire that builds as he practices daily. Hmmm… “Maybe I can buy another song book tomorrow after work?” Hmmm… “Maybe I can take a few lessons on Saturday afternoons?” You get the idea. Our guitar friend started with setting up the right environment by placing his guitar in the living room next to the TV. After a few weeks, his visions were greater. His desire was greater. His motivation for more intricacy was greater.
There is one other thing our guitar friend did that I didn’t tell you about. In the early stages of playing, he rewarded himself for practicing his guitar. He watched TV after he practiced his guitar. Guess what happened after a few months. His guitar playing became his own reward, and he stopped watching TV completely after work.
Does this sound a little hokey? It does. I admit. But, it’s called changing lifestyle, and you can apply this to bettering your health. I am confident that when you feel great about moving more and being in a solid exercise flow, you will feel more inspired to eat better and to train more.
This approach requires inside out thinking – going within yourself to determine What Matters, as discussed in the About page of BodySmartInc. In the case of our guitar playing friend, he determines that practicing the guitar is What Matters to him.
What is it that Matters to you?
Discipline is the Ladder
Discipline is the ladder that will get you from where you are to where you want to be. If you desire to be more active, set a time and minutes per week to engage in an activity. Don’t worry about what is the best activity, just do what you like. Specificity will come later, as our guitar playing friend can attest. When you can do the minutes without flinching, increase the frequency and let the intricate webbing of your mind unfold and stir excitement. This is the “trick”, although not a trick at all, to making your health a lasting lifestyle change. This, is the “happy normal”, you can obtain.
Discipline is the ladder you can set against the wall that is between you and what you want. It’s not something to be longing for; it’s something you can accomplish by starting small, setting up the best environment, being consistent, rewarding your accomplishments, and then building on your successes.
Where do you want to place that ladder? What is the wall you want to climb over so you may have a “happy normal”?
Looking good, feeling good and performing great is central to good health!
Kim