SELF DISCIPLINE AND MOTIVATION

On one of the personal development forums I contribute to someone was asking for advice on how to be more self-disciplined. Unfortunately they did not mention what activity they would like to have more discipline towards, but I guess that doesn't really matter. Discipline is discipline regardless of the subject.

I want to share with you my reply to this person, because when you understand how your mind becomes naturally disciplined and motivated you can use that knowledge to follow through with the acheivement of any goal:


Self discipline is never a problem if your motivation to do something is set in the right direction, and there are right and wrong ways to think about motivation.

We are either motivated to avoid things, e.g. "I don't want to be in debt" or "I don't want to be overweight", or we are motivated towards better outcomes, e.g. "I want the freedom of being financially independent" or "I want to feel fit and energized through achieving my ideal body weight".

People are far more likely to achieve their goals when they are focused on how good their life is going to be as a result of making it happen. The important thing to note is that this focus should not be a passive process. You must imagine your desired outcome in full Technicolor and immerse your senses completely in it. See it through your own eyes – big, right and vivid. Notice the sounds and make them loud and crisp. Imagine being in the scene as if it is happening right now and tune into how great if feels to have been successful – imagine you have a volume dial for you emotions and crank it right up.

Self discipline and motivation to do things come easily when you give your unconscious mind compelling pictures to aim for. When you allow yourself to feel the good feelings in advance of the actual success, you find a natural urge to make your reality match your internal expectation.

The word discipline literally means “to teach”. So if you want to be more self disciplined you simply need to teach your mind what you are aiming for by fantasizing about achieving your goals – and remembering to make the experience as sensory rich as you can.

When you become excited about the outcome, the discipline to follow through happens all by itself.