The Magic Called Discipline
We all think we need more motivation (or inspiration) to do things we ought to do, in order to achieve the goals we set out for ourselves. This results in most of us looking out for motivation from a number of sources all the time.
There are over 1,00,000 books in the motivational category on Amazon and there would be more than 10x the number in terms of videos under this category on Youtube. The US market alone for motivational “self-improvement” programs and products that seek to improve people physically, mentally, financially or spiritually is estimated to be worth over $11 billion based on publicly available data.
And the problem with motivation is that we don’t understand that, it has a limited shelf life and it is highly inconsistent. Motivation simply means your 'want' or 'desire' to do something. If one just needed to have a want or desire to achieve goals, most of us would have already reached there.
Let’s take the statistics of New Year resolutions in the US which shows that among the 60 per cent of people who make these resolutions only about 8 per cent of the people actually achieve them and 92% of the remaining fail.
There is nothing wrong with motivation. It is one of the most powerful beasts when it comes to short term goals. But, for long term goals, goals that can take a year, two or in some cases a lifetime it becomes tricky. In long enough timelines it is practically difficult to always stay motivated and avoid procrastination. Motivation thus will help you only get started, but for the long haul, one has to look out for discipline.
One of my long-term goals is to become a better writer, I have always had the desire (motivation) but to actually become one, I understood that I needed to practise it every day. So, I came up with this plan to write a daily public WhatsApp newsletter which hits my readers inbox every morning so that I can bring in more accountability and discipline to keep track of my progress. I have had my fair share of bad days during this time period of having started this newsletter but I have bought in some discipline to keep it going come what may. Doing so for the past 100 days has helped me exchange notes and feedback from my readers which is helping me in the way of achieving my long-term goal of becoming a better writer.
All self-help boils down to "choose long-term over short-term." - Naval
Discipline will help one build long term skills which leads to success. Michael Jordan is one of the greatest basketball players ever, a 6-time NBA Champion and the leader of the US Dream Team that won gold medals at the Barcelona Olympics 1992. But, when the first-ever time he tried out for his high school basketball team, he was rejected. Jordan decided to spend every waking moment during his summer vacation working on his game. He came back strong and made it to the team. The Netflix documentary ‘The Last Dance’ throws light on Jordan’s obsession with winning and discipline.
I start early and I stay late, day after day, year after year, it took me 17 years and 114 days to be an overnight success - Lionel Messi
In this age of social media filled with instant gratification, it is definitely easy to say things than do them. Social media has created a Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) and dopamine-driven feedback loops which is successful in keeping us distracted, in turn, driving its usage.
Keeping away from most social media was one of the sanest decision I have made in retrospect in the last 4 years (I am active on Twitter & Linkedin though). Initially, it was difficult for the first few months. Over a period of one year, it became a habit for me to avoid most social media to keep away from all the noise, clutter and dopamine hits. The discipline here lead to a habit which is unconscious automatic behaviour. You just need to give yourself enough time. Humans can possibly adjust to almost anything it is all neuroscience. When one repeatedly thinks and acts in identical ways day in and day out, the brain becomes moulded into a specific hardwired pattern that will support the same level of mind.
The following is one of my favourite excerpts from an interview titled Wall Street’s Wisest Man on Investing which will give one a perspective on dealing with emotions which call for instant actions.
‘Every day a charming, seductive manic-depressive gentleman named Mr Market shows up on your doorstep offering to do business with you. When he’s manic, he’ll offer to buy your stocks or sell you his for absurdly inflated prices. When he’s depressed, his prices go ridiculously low. The mistake most people make is answering the door just because Mr Market knocks. You don’t have to let him in. Why should you buy it just because he’s excited? Why should you sell just because he’s down in the dumps? A long-term investor shouldn’t care about market prices.’ - Charley Ellis
Sometimes inaction is the best thing you can do. Discipline requires controlling your emotions. Also, discipline is supposed to be boring for most people and they don’t realise that the road to success is boring. Warren Buffet’s formula for success could be described in one word as “boring”.Discipline is boring but it’s worth it.
Your discipline will one-day make you reach a point in life where it would be really difficult for you to return to your old ways. For that, you need to believe in yourself, the process and stay completely focussed away from all the noise around.
Discipline, is analogous to the systems approach, whereas motivation is analogous to goals.
Choosing to workout 30 mins every day -> Discipline/System
Wanting to lose 5 kilos in one month -> Motivation/Goal
Having a goal or motivation will definitely help one get started. But, getting better at anything is a continuous process that doesn’t stop once we reach the goal. One has to build a disciplined system with the right processes in place to always stay at the top of the game.
Discipline can sustain one for life and have a high rate of return in life.
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