by Michael Robinson
You know what you should do, yet you just don't do it, but you do something else instead. Whether that's nothing or something entirely different.
You have things that you want to get done, but man, you just can't seem to get those things done.
Discipline is the ability to do what you don't want to do and to be consistent with that particular task.
If being disciplined were easy, most people would get their important stuff done, period.
But its not easy for many reasons.
One of the biggest reasons for lack of discipline today is that most people feel that they will have more discipline tomorrow or further in the future.
Why do people give their future selves so much credit?
This can be explained with dynamic inconsistency.
Dynamic inconsistency is when we fail to go according to plan—the plan that we make for our future selves.
And we have many "self's."
Our self today.
Our self tomorrow.
And our self next Monday.
They're all the same person, but to believe that they'll feel different is an irrational psychological decision.
A simple change in priorities can make something unimportant tomorrow that was important today.
There are many other reasons why you may lack discipline.
Here are some more:
Start small.
EXAMPLE #1: Hold off on something that is part of your habit, but not that important, so you can easily hold it off.
This could be as small as 10 minutes.
If you normally turn on the music in your car as soon as you sit in it—WAIT... Then turn it on. The goal is to build a tolerance for delaying instant gratification.
EXAMPLE #2: If you're going to treat yourself, do it after you did the above example. Do the opposite. Do something good first that gives you the right to do something bad—like eating a tub of ice cream by yourself (don't do that).
EXAMPLE #3: You must understand that your future self is you. Look at the evidence in your life. How many promises did you make to yourself that you didn't keep? Why believe that the future will be different.
Do it today.
Your future self will thank you!
Below are common challenges that get in the way. Although they're common, they're not friendly. These challenges can last a lifetime.
Overcoming these challenges can remove years of stress and worry from your life, and get you the results you want in life.
What's in your way?
Becoming the best version of yourself becomes much easier once you become clear on who you want to be, and have a better understanding of why you do the things you do and don't do.
And overcoming self-sabotage becomes easier once you recognize what's holding you back.
