When trying to get somewhere, it’s ideal to take the best route. But we don’t always know the best route until we’ve started and sometimes not until we’ve finished.
The most important part is to get started. Once you are thinking about your journey and writing down options, you will be more likely to discover the best route.
Don’t just age. Progress. Improve. Learn. Apply. Achieve. Start now. Think. Act. The time will pass anyway. May as well get producing in the meantime. Don’t just age. Age with progress.
It feels easier in the moment not to be disciplined. You can shrug it off. Believe that you will do it later. You think you’ll get back on it again later in the week.
After a few weeks of great daily self-discipline will be the opposite. It’s harder in every moment. Though it gets easier with practice. But it is definitely harder to start. But the longer term benefits are great. If for no other reason than you can count on yourself to achieve when you say you will.
Usually though, we find other things in our way and don’t get back to it. A few weeks of that and we won’t feel so good about ourselves. It’s self-inflicted though.
If you find it hard to count on you, who else can? But you have the control to change it all around. Only say things you are actually going to do. Don’t over-commit. Set timers to help keep you on track. Be pleased with each commitment you stick to. Those are powerful building blocks.
Self-discipline is key. And that key will unlock all the doors you can imagine.
Before taking action, ask yourself this question. What am I contributing to? If everything goes well, what would it look like? However, if things go wrong, how could that end up? Do you need to take this action or is it simply a desire?
I will guess that we have all had moments, that in hindsight looked like we made a less beneficial decision. We can’t undo those but we can try to minimise them going forward.
Grabbing a pitchfork to join the mob is rarely a good idea. Not being able to admit that you were wrong on something, or that you misunderstood the detail, shows a lack of moral intelligence and possibly cowardice. It’s ok to admit you spoke too soon or didn’t wait to get accurate details, but even better is to have the patience to find out the relevant details first next time.
What am I contributing to? We don’t always know in advance but when we do begin to see the adverse effects of our actions or words, we should straighten things out very quickly.
It can be easy to say we are lazy or observe others and come to that conclusion. We become unwilling to work or use our energy when we don’t have a clear goal or outcome in mind.
You might feel lazy when you have competing deadlines. It can be easier to curl up on the sofa and hope they disappear. Or go for walks, lunch with friends or to the pub – whatever distraction we prefer. It can feel all too hard. So, we just avoid the whole thing.
Although this can be one way to deal with things, we should edge toward greater discipline. Do one thing to move the situation forward. Make that phone call, write a few lines or add some context for someone. Just the idea of getting started can propel you to keep going. Then, once you are 10 minutes in, it can be hard to stop because you are so engaged in the process and can see the outcome.
Are you lazy or lacking purpose? I would suggest we all have a lazy tendency if we allow it. However, if we set an exciting goal to pursue, we will find that purpose propelling us to greater heights. When you are driven by enthusiasm for you objective, you need less discipline. You can simply be obsessed.
Habits and patterns of behaviour can be incredibly difficult to change. Our environment has adapted to make the habits easier. In addition, our desire for familiarity adds to the challenge of changing. Finally, our self-image will stop us if the new habit is not in aligment with how we see ourselves.
Three things to make it easier to change are as follows:
Yes, it’s hard to change, but you can make it easier on yourself and increase your probability of success. Start today!
It is important to stand firm for your beliefs. Defending the cause is an important tradition. But when should we learn to take the momentum and build something better rather than fight against something that is losing power, quite negative and improving the lives of every few people?
Fighting for worker’s rights in the Industrial Age was probably a useful battle. With so many laws and protections for workers now, we may possibly be getting diminishing returns by fighting against management.
Perhaps looking forward and educating and empowering workers would be better for them. Help them learn while taking more responsibility and accountability. Helping them become better, stronger and more independent would be a real benefit to them. It may work better than only protecting them.
Remember that when we are protecting some, we do not need to attack others. Uplift those that can benefit from it rather than being anti things that are improving already.
No matter what you do, keep pressing forward. It may seem too difficult or even useless. But keep moving things in the direction you need. Write out and plan every step and then execute on that plan. You will be successful if you do this. You may even become unstoppable.
Twice a day. It certainly seems like a good idea. Use toothpaste. But not very much. Certainly you don’t need the huge long amount shown on tv and in pictures.
And shut the water off except when spitting in the sink or quickly rinsing your toothbrush. Anything more is wasting water. Think of all the energy and cleaning it takes to get that water to run through your tap. Don’t waste it.
Flossing is also a good idea. Though certainly, brush your teeth.
