Self-discipline is a good memory for what you want from your life. Without this quality, it is impossible to imagine a man who would achieve something and become successful. Self-discipline helps people to grow, to develop themselves, set goals and achieve them despite all vital difficulties. After all, life is arranged so that in order to achieve and get something, it is necessary to do some work. Sometimes it is very hard work. And without the willpower and self-discipline it is impossible to do anything.
But in order to achieve the goals, these goals must be defined. Therefore, from the very beginning you should write down your most necessary purposes. And it is very important not to miss this simple but very important step. Because, willpower and motivation are very closely connected with each other. And without a clear vision of your goals, you will not have good motivation.
The topic of "How to discipline oneself" has interested me since childhood. I have often faced challenges in my life with the necessity to show willpower and character. I have only formed a clear understanding of this important feature much later in my life. Every time when I saw the manifestation of self-discipline among my friends, I would ask: Why does he do it? What is he thinking? And when he passes through difficulties, what gave him the courage to return to this unpleasant, yet useful activity again, rather than throwing it all away just to relax? Some people are born with this internal force, but, unfortunately, that's not all there is to it. Most people have to develop and train their willpower and discipline. And believe me, with the right approach, it is not such a challenge.
My observations of people who know how to discipline themselves, and the amount of collected stories will be enough to separate a book from a seminar. But today I would like to tell you about some of the conclusions to which I have come as a result of these observations. To these conclusions I have come not all at once, but by gradually taking the lessons learned from my own experience and the experience of my friends and acquaintances.
I will speak in the language of metaphors. Metaphors are always better understood than a set of thoughts because they represent a picture which consists of the narrator's thoughts. Despite its simplicity, the metaphor is a kind of learning system because it takes as its basis what the listener already knows and understands.
Imagine that self-discipline is a wheel.
It rotates through life, touching one part, and then another with its circumference, containing a surface of difficulties; work, dieting, money, entertainment and so on... Now imagine that this wheel is made of a stone. Why? Because as soon as there is a small amount of pressure on it, this causes a very powerful crack, and a whole wheel of self-discipline becomes ready to break into pieces. Such examples are familiar to everyone. And everyone can remember a considerable quantity of such examples. One mug of beer seldom happens once. One eaten candy would entail a couple or three superfluous candies. The duration of "today" in the phrase "today I will go to the gym" may last longer than the gym was built. And the phrase "last time" causes a smile regardless of context
A small break causes a long crack, which can affect everything from a diet to work, to relationships and so on, splitting the whole stone wheel of self-discipline into parts. The man has lost energy and become languid and lazy: "I'm so tired. Enough! I want a vacation!"
My experience is that you cannot just have the self-discipline, it must be practiced. Every day, you have to roll the wheel and not to allow it to split, which can be difficult because it is a stone wheel. "But how can this be?" - will be indignant people, who are in love with themselves, masking it as love to life. "This is boring! Even the sound of a dry stone wheel of self-discipline cuts the ear! It's unbearable!
Listen attentively, quitters and losers. You are right! And I am not joking. The wheel should not be completely made up of stone; otherwise it will become covered by cracks within days. On it there should be a necessarily outer rubber layer. Yes, beer is bad, but once or twice a month it is acceptable! Yes, sleeping until 11:00am is a manifestation of laziness, but once, on a day off it is normal. Small exceptions are normal and this is thus the rubber layer on the stone wheel of self-discipline. It is this layer that allows people over the years to move forward towards their goals in life and not to leave the race.
In conclusion, I would like to give some very important instructions.
- The rubber layer should be as thin as possible. And only after some time will you choose the thickness of this rubber layer.
- Without a soft rubber layer, in the near future, your wheel of self-discipline will develop a small break and that will destroy all that you have created during the rolling of this tool.
- The wheel of self-discipline must be made of stone, not cotton.
The main thing in the wheel of self-discipline is that it should be rolled. If you do not roll this wheel and do not practice self-discipline, consider yourself lucky if you are in the same place where you started 5-10 years from now.
Original Source: http://askalex.ru/2011/01/17/self-discipline
