Simple Mindset Tweaks: Maintain Self-Disciplined Despite the Odds
A journey to rediscovering oneself
Growing up, how many times were we reprimanded by our parents for disobedience ? We carry out tasks based on expectation, but deeply resent it. This is what discipline taught us growing up — it is harsh, bitter treatment, built on the expectations of the outside world. We experience life confined by the inconspicuous walls of discipline, made into insentient machines.
Fast forward a few years later, when we develop maturity, we begin to question ourselves if we find fulfillment in our actions. We stumble upon self-discipline at some point, and understood its importance to our lives.
Self-discipline is choosing intentionality in your actions, one that aligns with your purpose; you stay rooted to your beliefs, in spite of distractions, setbacks, and unfavourable odds.
Since COVID-19 happened, we are familiar with the term“ new normal”. Hence, we need to embrace self-discipline as our new normal towards any facet in life.
People think of self-discipline as simply committing their words into action. If it were that easy, everyone would be living purpose-driven lives, steering clear from unwanted distractions. However, in a tech-saturated world, they fall prey to excessive distractions.
Self-discipline isn’t taken seriously — majority aren’t taking massive action. I say massive action, because majority are dreamers, reluctant to take the first step. They are afraid of failure and judgement, I understand.
I know how it feels like to constantly aspire about future, because I too have a dream. But if we don’t think it into existence through our actions, the world remains unchanged.
The benefits of self-discipline are countless, from rational decision-making to conquering your inner monologue (negative, emotion-driven thoughts). To understand the weight of self-discipline, we need to understand its key ideas. I highly advise you to read my previous articles — visualisation and visual cues to appreciate the given context.
Types of self-discipline
Is self-discipline a single entity?
Here’s a new perspective — discipline consists of 3 components that are imperative to our everyday choices, namely: Active, proactive, and reactive discipline.
Active Discipline
Active discipline involves self-awareness. You stay conscious of your actions throughout the day, preventing wandering thoughts that distract you. This time, you internalise and take action toward this decision. This is important because, as mentioned, your success depends on you taking massive action. I draw reference to two influential figures, Eluid Kipchoge and Simon Sinek.
“If you don’t rule your mind, your mind will rule you.”
— Eluid Kipchoge
Kipchoge once said that he runs with not his legs, but with his heart and mind. When the going gets tough, it’s not your strength that carries you. You may be good at certain skills, but once you’re frazzled by setbacks— I urge you to think again.
The mind has a propensity to overthink, and tries its best to avoid short-term suffering. That’s where active discipline comes in handy, shut off your inner critical voice, and take charge of your life. It’s not easy to get used to, that’s why staying conscious is a daily practice.
I started off staying conscious only in the morning, then for half a day, and now I’m able to consciously make the right choices for most of my day. I saw the end goal through visualisation, implemented active discipline to stay committed, and made use of visual cues.
“Consistency is more important than intensity.”
— Simon Sinek
Simon Sinek mentioned that you can work out for 2 hours, and not see results that same day. However, with conscious effort to exercise for 20 minutes each day, he’s certain that you’ll eventually get into shape. Similarly, with visualisation, you know where you’re headed, and you’re consciously taking steps every day despite the lack of immediate results. Your brain runs on its own when you start craving immediate gratification because you’re unable to respect the value of time. Active discipline allows you to rationalise emotional thoughts. You make focused decisions that ultimately shape your life’s intended direction.
Proactive discipline
Proactive discipline is about being in control of multiple circumstances — -preempting yourself for the undesirable. You anticipate that you may have a hard time doing certain things, hence you prepare beforehand, to give yourself the capacity to carry out those difficult tasks.
For example, the dreaded early morning run; you get up early and before you put on your run attire, your brain tells you it’s a hassle, that you should appreciate a cozy slumber before sunrise. This is activation energy, the amount of energy needed to overcome barriers, in order to get things done.
A visual representation by James Clear:
How? Prepare an environment that acts as a catalyst to reduce the effort needed to perform your activities, like getting everything ready the night before. This makes discipline significantly easier to adopt in your life, much less form a habit.
I want to share a quote that I hold dear to me: Opportunities come to those most prepared. I tend to push my deadlines forward so that I reduce the reluctance to act promptly. Remember, time is limited, make full use of it. I used to make the mistake of doing things at the very last minute; I found out that the time spent before my projects were wasted on completely irrelevant things. These things did not value-add to my quality of life, nor did they prepare me for the golden opportunities. What a waste of…
Reactive Discipline
Reactive discipline is the act of controlling your state of mind when things don’t go your way; when life knocks you hard to the ground. Relating to one of Mike Tyson’s favourite quotes: “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” It’s how you react to adversity that defines you, not adversity itself.
Introducing 2 key values: Self-confidence and patience.
Self-confidence is about having faith in your beliefs. Your beliefs are your visions and how well you want to see them actualised. Too often, I see friends dejected or hung-up because a cynic didn’t see the value behind their actions. Sometimes, even our parents don’t fully understand us. How then, can shallow-minded cynics? Why should you care about the opinions of others when they’re not even half as proficient in what you’re doing? The loose tongue spreads destruction…
I’d rather take advice from an expert in my field than heed the advice of the masses. Everyone claims to be smart from their perspective. Everyone has an opinion, but not everyone can impose an ideal into you. You are yours truly, and the final call is yours to decide. Be confident of who you are.
Patience is standing firm in your beliefs in spite of turbulent headwinds. It’s recognising that an empire isn’t built overnight and that small steps do matter. That way, you program your mind to not see failure or criticism as obstacles, but as stepping stones, for you to either improve or rethink your idea.
“Failure is just life trying to move us in another direction.” — Oprah Winfrey.
These 2 values allow you to remain disciplined and focused — to build up a strong will against challenges placed forth.
Conclusion
This marks the end of our journey for our 3 part series — Simple Mindset Tweaks! To recap, there are 3 aspects to self-discipline we can adopt.
Active discipline is self-awareness, choosing to actively strive for improvement in life.
Proactive discipline is understanding activation energy, that with each activity, there is an energy barrier that needs to be overcome. Simply change your environment or plan ahead to reduce the energy needed to perform anything. This makes it easier to commit to self-discipline.
Reactive discipline involves human emotional control; when faced with difficulty, are you going to give up? We remain self-disciplined with our minds in spite of the odds.
Self-discipline is being aware of what you’re capable of, then making conscientious decisions while avoiding distractions — decisions that are consistent with your achievements in the foreseeable future. With these 3 core ideas, you’re wielded into action the moment you visualise a desired outcome. You take action with visual cues, and you make a commitment through self-discipline.
Fear not, this journey will not be a fleeting one, for this is the ride of a lifetime. A lifetime of discovering endless possibilities within.
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