Self-Discipline and Positivity
Everyone in today's world of technology struggles to follow through on their goals and stick to a concrete plan to achieve them. They lack consistency in their approach and this is because they try to constantly rationalize their unproductive behaviors.
Why has today's society started devaluing self-discipline and did we even realize it as it happened? Why has it become such a grueling and burdensome task to finish what you started?
There's no simple explanation for this. The evergrowing tide of the Internet and social media has made it very easy and effortless to acquire information and knowledge and communicate with others, which has prompted the human brain to look for simple ways to accomplish any task and steer clear of the diligent approach. And this approach consists of discipline, consistency, and perseverance.
When you hear the word ‘Discipline’, the first thing that comes to your mind mostly is boring and non-spontaneity. Well, to some extent, it might feel like that at the start but as time passes by, you realize it actually frees up some time for you.
You might have noticed that whenever your try to form a new habit you seem to face some difficulties continuing it. This is relatable for most of us. But you've to respect the fact that disciplining yourself is not an easy feat and it’ll require you to sacrifice a lot of things that make your life easy and pleasant.
Some of them even take several days thinking about what should they start with, which I think is just an excuse they give to put off their new regime and all this happens unconsciously. You don’t even realize what you are doing, cause these lazy habits are so hard-wired into your brain they just happen automatically.
Starting good habits and leaving bad ones will take a lot of time, effort, motivation, and discipline.
You have to remember time and effort will build a strong human.
Everyone thinks that discipline comes from changing your whole routine in an instant. That is next to impossible. You have to start with little improvements which are easy enough to continue and don't require you to put in a lot of energy. Just start by making your bed every day and washing your dishes after you eat. These may seem little to you but these little things are what initiate a change. This behavior indirectly affects your environment and creates a wave of positivity and motivation.
Just thinking your minute actions won't affect someone. That's not how it works. Let us consider you have 100 people that you know these 100 people who know another 100. This creates a huge network. So your action will indirectly affect a myriad of people unknowingly.
When you do something you shouldn't is worse than you think and the thing you should do is better than you think. So, make an effort to improve yourself by 1% everyday.
Every day it gets a little easier… But you gotta do it every day — that’s the hard part. But it does get easier.”
So, if you get your act together 10% more, it'll make your family 1 % better and maybe even make a stranger’s life 0.001% better. But these small percentages matter a lot in the grand scheme of things. These habits have a rippling effect.
Let’s take an example. You're in a public park enjoying time with your family and someone notices you and thinks “Wow, I want to be more like him.”So, that's the power you hold.
Thinking about others people's success and why they are successful is a futile exercise. I mean it's okay to think it sucks but thinking why they are successful and sulking about it and hating them for it will not in any way help you. Sulking other people's success is a refuge for losers. Instead learning something from their work ethic and behavior will assist you in attaining your goals.
It’s easy for us to blame others for the circumstances in our lives, whether they’re a direct cause or not. It’s also extremely satisfying; faulting people plays on our deep-seated need for fairness and justice in an often unfair and unjust world.
So, to make an effort to bring about a positive change in yourself look at the trivial things that you are doing wrong and try to fix them first. We devalue the things that are right in front of us.
“Your life isn’t margaritas on a beach in Jamaica. That happens now and then. Those are exceptions. Your life is how your wife greets you at the door when you come home every day, ’cause that’s like 10 minutes a day. Your life is how you treat each other over the breakfast table, ’cause that’s an hour and a half or an hour every single day. You get those mundane things right those things that you do every day. You concentrate on them and you make them pristine. it’s like you got 80% of your life put together. These little things that are right in front of us, they’re not little.”
In my personal experience, putting in work and showing grit to follow through on my goals has made me a better person. This past year I’ve seen a tremendous amount of improvement in my health and my approach to life. As you discipline yourself you might not notice these effects but when you look at it from a broader perspective, these little changes go a long way in making the system more efficient and enriching your life quality.
We’re not just tiny little specks in this great universe but something more than that.