Discipline Archives - Page 2 of 2

Track Your Progress And Review It

Posted on May 11, 2020

Having a goal and moving toward it is great. Even more so when you are making progress. Similarly, it is quite important to track your progress and review it.

When things are going well it makes you feel good seeing the progress. More importantly, perhaps, is seeing where and when you are not making progress. If you are looking to understand why you aren’t getting the results you wanted, this daily tracking and review can be quite instructive.

Several years ago I wanted to tone up and that meant dropping about 20 pounds. I had never paid attention to my weight prior to that as I had always been quite active and had a reasonably healthy diet.

It was a fascinating game of figuring out what worked and what didn’t. I was in a hurry as I didn’t want to spend 6 months, or more, on this project.

I had my views on what worked and didn’t. At the start, I read some books to get a broader perspective and see what else I could learn. After all, slimming is 99% in the head.

I simply had to move more and eat less. Keeping yourself in a calorie deficit can be a challenge. Like so many things though, once you get into it, it seems easier than you had expected. Gamifying the whole process also helped to work wonders.

When you track your progress and review it, you get into the detail. You understand the nuance and how to get the winning edge. This tracking and review doesn’t make it easier, but you can understand how to get the results quicker. I really enjoyed that part of the whole process.

You can, and should, do this with all of your goals, not just weight-related. Tracking takes a little bit more effort, but the payoff is excellent. Good luck!!

Action Reframe your thoughts

How I Built A Habit In 1 Moment And You Can Too

Posted on April 28, 2020

I’ve done it a couple of times in the last 12 months so I know it works. Some might say this is backed by science and critics will criticise. Either way, this is how I built a habit in 1 moment and you can too.

To build a habit you must commit to it and make it a ‘must’ in your life. It is that simple.

Here are my proof points.

From the moment I moved house last summer, I committed to going to my wonderful new home every time I left it. I did not go to my old house every day for two months, even though it was only 700 meters away.
At New Year 2018, I decided to train and run two marathons in the spring of 2019. I trained daily and completed both in decent times.
Writing this daily blog. I committed, made it a must, and this is my 110th daily blog in a row. It was automatic from the moment I decided it was a must in my life and I had committed to it.

In James Clear‘s blog post, “How long does it actually take to form a new habit”, he notes two key things of extra interest to me. The first is when he references a study of 96 people which finds it takes exactly 66 days before a new behaviour becomes automatic. The second item of interest was the following quote.

“You have to embrace the process. You have to commit to the system.”
James Clear, Author of Atomic Habits

To me, his quote is more powerful than the small study and countless other studies like it.

I believe habits develop as quickly as you want them to. The more you make it a must, the more likely it will be automatic from day one. For example, how often did you turn up to your old job, or classroom, after the first day at the new one?

Tony Robbins sums it up quite nicely in his quote below.

“The difference between ‘must’ and ‘should’ is the life you want and the life you have.” When something is a must, you find a way.
Tony Robbins

I think people are amazing and can create new habits pretty quickly when determined to do so. Decide it is a must and commit.

This is how I built a habit in 1 moment and you can too.

[NB: This is dedicated to my Nana who was told in her 40’s to quit smoking or never see her grandchildren grow up. She never touched another one and, gratefully, I was almost 30 when she passed.]

Action Progress

You Can Do Something

Posted on April 5, 2020

There is a lot of opportunity to get involved. Start looking for your impact zone. You are amazing. You can do something.

I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; I will not refuse to do the something I can do.
Helen Keller

What is the something you can do today?

Action Observe Reframe your thoughts

The Easier Way To Get Great Results!

Posted on February 27, 2020

Three of the best ways to get great results are:

Motivation
Discipline
Environmental modification

Motivation is great, positive, and easier in the short term. Though a day or a week might be all you can handle before it wears off.

People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.
Zig Ziglar

Discipline is difficult. It is about overcoming what you want to do and doing what you should, regardless of how you feel. You just do it. Although, it does get easier in the longer term as you train your brain and it simply becomes a habit.

Environmental modification makes everything easier. You won’t need motivation or discipline to spring out of bed at the alarm or stop you from pushing the snooze button. If you place your alarm on the far side of the room and ensure the volume is up high, you will have no choice but to wake up. You’ll race across the room to turn it off but that will have got you out of bed.

And if your running or gym gear was left out, beside the alarm, it would be so easy to just slip into it and head off for some exercise.

If you want to modify what you consume, simply don’t buy things you are trying to stay away from (chocolate, cigarettes, alcohol). It’s a lot easier to exercise self discipline when you have to leave the house to get something you may be craving. By the time you get yourself out of the house to buy the item, your motivation for change, and your growing self discipline, may have kicked in and you’ll be able to stop and head back home without making an unwanted purchase.

Set yourself up to win today. Modify your environment first. Look around and see what you can change right now. It will make using your motivation and self discipline so much easier and more effective.

Action Goals, Results & New Thinking Health & Fitness Weight loss

Discipline Or Regret – Which One Do You Have?

Posted on February 25, 2020

Building a discipline can be a wonderful feeling. That daily routine of getting up early for some quiet time before the day gets going. Or maybe you go for a run, like I do. Some people head to the gym.

There are other healthy and beneficial disciplines too, such as standing up straight, having good posture, drinking 8 glasses of water every day, eating appropriately, getting 7-8 hours of good sleep at night, reading something positive, having positive thoughts and self-talk, and journaling. ?✍️??‍♀️?‍♂️

There are even disciplines we completely take for granted such as breathing. Thankfully our body takes care of this one.

Having some positive disciplines, like those listed above, can keep you mentally and physically strong and healthy. These disciplines all take a little effort and they can be harder for some people. But you always have a choice of which pain you are willing to endure. Short term pain for long term gain? Or vice versa? You can push back on the discipline, and think you have cheated the system, for a little while. But the harmony in the universe will snap back into place at some point.

”We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.”
Jim Rohn

Without some good disciplines things can go in the wrong direction. We can see this with our physique and hear our minds’ challenges through the words we speak. This is when regret creeps in. It takes some time before we notice the changes, but by then, less helpful habits have joined us and impact our every day. We start to regret those little indiscretions, those one off moments where we let our discipline lapse. ?????

The good news is you can turn this around! You just need to apply your disciplines again – little and often – until you are back on track and seeing and hearing that better version of you again.

Take a few minutes today and commit to one of the actions above and do it every day this week. Next week try adding a second one. Continue with both disciplines for a couple of weeks before trying to add in the third and forth ones. Good luck! ?

Progress Reframe your thoughts

Restarts

Posted on February 3, 2020

Sometimes we drop the ball. It happens to everyone. We’re going along nicely with our skill or habit and then boom, we lose it. People always fall off course, either from something they do themselves or because of some event that affects them.

The secret is in quickly restarting. Don’t wait a day or two until you feel like restarting or trying again. Don’t let the pressure or guilt get to you.

When you fall off a bike, you get back on it quickly and try again. Same with diets. If you have something to eat that wasn’t going to help you reach your ultimate goal, don’t say, “I’ll start next week”. Or tomorrow. Say, I made a mistake but my goal is important and I am getting back on track right now,

James Clear, author of the NYT bestselling book Atomic Habits, says it quite simply, “Never miss twice”. So you can miss a habit once and that’s just life. But if you miss twice, you’re actually starting a new habit. And it doesn’t sound like a good habit either.

I’ve talked about getting started with Start Me Up, being clear on The Finish Line, and now how to Restart. These are three cornerstone components to building great habits.

Remember, never miss twice, and restart immediately.