Thursday

Take 15min to establish a Front Squat 1RM

      then...

FUN with KBs!

We waste our lives with a lack of self-discipline.

Self-discipline is a skill.  It is the ability to focus and overcome distractions.  It involves acting according to what you know is right instead of how you feel in the moment (perhaps tired or lazy).  It typically requires sacrificing immediate pleasure and excitement for what matters most in life.

A lack of self-discipline for most of us is often the result of a lack of focus (see the previous five points).  In other words, we tell ourselves we are going to work on something, but then we don’t.  When this happens to me, first and foremost, I forgive myself for messing up, and then I strive to be mindful about what’s really going on.  Am I procrastinating for some reason?  Am I distracted?  Instead of telling myself that I’m “bad” or “undisciplined,” I try to productively uncover a more specific, solvable problem, and then address it.

But…

What do you do if your life is in complete disarray, you have hardly any self-discipline or consistent routines, can’t stick to anything, procrastinate constantly, and feel completely out of control?

How do you get started with building a healthy ritual of self-discipline when you have so many changes to make?

You start small.  Very small.

If you don’t know where to start, let me suggest that you start by simply washing your dishes.  Yes, I mean literally washing your dishes.  It’s just one small step forward:  When you eat your oatmeal, wash your bowl and spoon.  When you finish drinking your morning coffee, rinse the coffee pot and your mug.  Don’t leave any dirty dishes in the sink or on the counter for later.  Wash them immediately.

Form this ritual one dish at a time, one day at a time.  Once you do this consistently for a couple weeks, you can start making sure the sink has been wiped clean too.  Then the counter.  Then put your clothes where they belong when you take them off.  Then start doing a few sit-ups every morning.  Eat a few vegetables for dinner.  And so forth.

Do one of these at a time, and you’ll start to build a healthy ritual of self-discipline, and finally know yourself to be capable of doing what must be done… and finishing what you start.

But, again, for right now, just wash your dishes.  Mindfully, with a smile.  (Angel and I build tiny, life-changing rituals with our students in the “Goals and Growth” module of Getting Back to Happy.)