We are
not all gifted with iron will and granite discipline. Although we may not care
to admit it, some of us are weak when it comes to self discipline. This does
not mean we should lag behind in the race of life behind our more
psychologically gifted counterparts. I will show you how to be as disciplined
as the meanest drill sergeant you can think of. All you need is commitment to
achieving your goals plus a friend or relative you trust and who is willing to
help you.
Give
yourself a very strong reason for doing something you want to do, but do not
have the willpower to actually go through with. Do this by using a third party,
someone you trust and are not ashamed to have them know your weaknesses. First
of all, think of something, you cannot do without, like food, shelter or
clothing, and entrust this person with all your access to this thing. For
example, you can give him or her the key to your house and tell them not to
give you that key under any circumstances unless you have proven to that person
that you have done what you committed to doing, say if its exercising for 45
minutes, you can have an arrangement with your gym attendant to fill in a
report for you every time you go to the gym. Or if it’s getting up at 5.00 am
every weekday, you can take a photo of yourself every morning with your
cellphone holding up a clock or something.
The idea
behind this is that the stronger and more immediate the motivation for doing
something, the more likely you are to actually do it. Plus the beauty of this
is that with time, if you keep at this long enough, you will be able to develop
your won self discipline through habit and developing your willpower
"muscles". Its like a father teaching his son how to ride
a bike, initially he will need help from his father but eventually he will be
able to ride on his own. Some of us are born knowing how to ride a bike, some
of us need outside help.
