Change your Perception of Self-Discipline | It is Happiness, Not Punishment
Have you noticed that training montages in movies always spark some emotion inside of us?
Why is that?
Those characters are not comfortable in those moments. They feel pain. They feel frustration. They feel disappointment. But they do it to prepare for a challenge that’s important for them.
I believe we feel emotion when we watch such training montages because deep down we too want to be driven like them. We too want to wake up early in the morning and work hard late into the night.
Now of course, they are fictional characters but we believe their stories. We believe a person would be as driven as they are if they had an important reason to do it.
We develop self-discipline only if we have a reason for it. Before we can get things done, we must know why we should do them.
The reason is what makes the difference. There’s that story about the two workers who were laying down bricks. A man passing by asked them: What are you doing? The first man said: Oh I’m just doing my job laying down these bricks. And then second man said: I’m building a cathedral that will stand 1000 years.
Isn’t that interesting? The same job, but done for different reasons.
Desire is the starting point of all individual achievement
Napoleon Hill said “Desire is the starting point of all individual achievement”. So the first thing we need to make progress in life is a goal that we are passionate about.
I know! You’ll say: “Yeah goals are important. This is cliche already.” I agree you see quotes like these on Facebook every day.
But it’s most likely still difficult for you to think of a goal that’s inspiring. We’re used to doing tasks not because we want to achieve something. But because someone else makes us do them, like a professor, team leader, or family member.
We’ve been conditioned to take orders from an authority but not to set goals for ourselves. Have you ever stayed up all night to work on your business or personal project? Probably not. But you most likely stayed up all night to work on a school or job project. The orders of your boss or professor were more significant for you than your own.
Sure, we can get by well only doing things an authority orders us to do. But that’s not a fulfilled life. We truly become alive when we do something because we’re passionate about it.
Here we go, another cliche: Do something you are passionate about. You’ll say but I have no idea what I like.
Well, we think that you may have already found your passion but you’re not aware of it.
Seriously, you’re awake 16 hours a day, what do you do with your time?
You’re doing something, obviously. You browse certain websites. You talk about something. You watch certain TV shows. You stay up to date with certain news. There’s some topic, or activity, or idea that dominates a significant amount of your free time without you realizing. Your conversations, the people you follow online, the headlines you click on have a common theme you are attracted to.
It’s right there in front of you, but you’ve never been aware of it. Take a moment and think about what that may be.
Now, your natural tendency will be to think that what you love doing cannot be your calling in life. For example you may think: “Yeah I love watching movies but that doesn’t count because I could never do anything related to that field.”
Really? Have you ever actually considered the possibilities?
You could make movie reviews on YouTube. You could create and sell merchandise related to your favorite movies. You could write stories that could be adapted to movie scripts. You could start a podcast interviewing people in the film industry. You could work as a cameraman, animator, sound editor, colorist, makeup artist, and so on. There are hundreds of ways you could work in the field that you are passionate about.
But here’s the thing: When you first think about what you could do, usually nothing inspires you. That’s normal. Don’t expect to discover your goal like a revelation. Something like: “Ah, I love watching movies therefore now I realize I want to be a director of photography.”
It doesn’t happen like that. In the beginning, the image of what you want will be unclear. But something about it will feel attractive. At the same time, you will most likely feel discomfort.
Again, that’s normal. Excitement and discomfort should go hand in hand. Because a good goal is one that excites you and scares you at the same time.
Fear is a good indicator that your goal is big enough. You realize that you’ll have to work a lot to get from where you are now to your goal. And that makes you afraid.
However, the thought that you could achieve something great also makes you excited. It’s that combination of fear and excitement that propels you toward achievement.
So take a few moments and think about what your passion may be. What is the topic that dominates a lot of your free time without you even realizing it?
Take 5 minutes and think about that. It’s one of the most valuable exercises you can do.
Why bother to work so hard when you can relax?
To become disciplined, we must be able to answer an important question: Why bother?
Why work that hard?
Why read so much?
Why struggle to change your habits?
Why wake up early in the morning?
Why bother to improve at all?
The question of “why” has haunted humanity for thousands of years. What’s our meaning on this earth? Why are we here? Why should we do anything?
In the end we’re just some people living on a small planet in vast universe of billions of galaxies. What difference does our existence make anyway?
It does makes all the difference. If you think about it, everyone is the center of their own universe. The only thing you can ever experience is your own life. So why not make it a great life? Your life is your own universe, so why not live in it?
As far as we know there is no universal reason to do anything. The wisest people in history all agree it’s up to us to give answers to these questions. The meaning of life is to give life a meaning.
Each person is motivated by something unique. For some it may be providing great experiences for their kids. For others it may be getting a beach house. For others it may be setting foot on the moon.
But all human goals have something in common. It’s also evident in all of nature, plants, and animals. That commonality is GROWTH.
All life strives for expansion and fuller expression.
Think about it. How tall will a tree grow?
As tall as it can. Trees send their roots as deep as possible. They stretch their limbs as high as possible. They produce every leaf possible and every fruit possible.
We human beings also have this desire to grow as much as we can. That’s why you bought this course, to develop yourself. That’s why you want to travel and see the world. That’s why you want to be muscular and lean. That why you want a nice home and a nice car. All of us want to experience more of life. It’s in our nature.
Each of us is given a choice. We can become part of what we can be, enough to get by, enough to feel ok. Or we can strive to become all that we can be.
The reason we set big goals is to force ourselves to grow. If our goal in life is to get by and spend our time on social media and watching tv, we don’t have a reason to develop ourselves. But if we want 5 vacations a year, a 7 figure business, and a beach house then we must grow. The challenges and hardships of achieving a big goal are what transform you into an amazing person.
People often say that they’d love to spend their lives doing nothing. If they had money they wouldn’t work another day in their life.
Really? Let me ask you a question.
Do you remember that Sunday last year when you slept until noon, spent all day online and then went back to sleep? Was that a memorable day? Is that a day you’d choose as the best in your life? Definitely not.
But how about a day when you overcame some challenges or lived an adventure? Maybe you hiked to the top of a mountain. Or maybe you learned how to surf. Or maybe you redecorated your house. Or maybe you went to a sports tournament. Those are days that you remember and cherish.
We are not happy when we don’t do anything. We feel best when we overcome a challenge and grow from it.
Even when playing computer games, we don’t want them to be easy. Who would play a game where all your enemies would die as soon as they see you? That would be the most boring game ever. No. We want a game to be hard. We want to struggle, and finally to succeed.
Jim Rohn said something great:
We all must suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret and disappointment. What we must understand however is that regret and disappointment hurt far worse than discipline.
Self discipline is not punishment. It’s a conscious choice. It means choosing between what you want now and what you want most. You choose to give up something of a lower nature to receive something of a higher nature.
This is what Abraham Lincoln’s mother taught him on her deathbed. She said the beginning of wisdom is the desire for discipline, the love of discipline, the voluntary choice of discipline. It is the high road that leads to everything that makes life worth living. He was just a boy at the time but he carried that lesson with him for the rest of his life.
Few people understand that sacrifice is actually positive. You DO NOT LOSE anything when you become disciplined. You DO NOT DEPRIVE yourself of anything. YOU DO NOT LOSE, YOU LET GO! There’s a huge difference. You let go of something that’s not serving you and embrace something that is serving you!
So in this first video we want to leave you with a simple message that is the foundation of the entire course. Self discipline is not punishment. It is happiness, freedom and peace of mind.
It’s happiness because discipline is the opposite of being stuck. When you’re not stuck, it means you’re growing. And growth is always equal to happiness.
It’s freedom because it gives you the power to do what you want to do when you want it. It doesn’t matter if it’s work, fun, or relaxation, you give your own orders. You don’t need an authority to tell you what to do.
It’s peace of mind because it gives you the confidence you’re going to have a great future. If you do your work every day, you know you’re going to be successful. Having this state of mind will dissolve fear and negativity from your life.
You and all of nature want to grow, to live a more meaningful life. And to do that you consciously choose to give up on certain daily activities so you can replace them with tasks that lead you to achieving a big goal.
The Unstoppable Discipline Program has a clear purpose – to help you TAKE DAILY ACTION TOWARDS YOUR GOALS and FEEL PROUD OF YOURSELF instead of disappointed. The way our program helps you become more disciplined is by making you aware that your actions are the result of your habitual way of thinking. Each one of the 16 videos included in the program is designed to change your thinking into that of a productive person. The practical exercises will help you develop your willpower, set inspiring goals, and see yourself as the person you want to become.