What is discipline?

[DefinitelyNotARobot]

This is something I've been contemplating lately. I've been struggling with discipline and I'd like to get a couple of perspectives on this topic!

Like let's say someone plans on getting up at 5am and going for a run. What's the difference between someone who goes through with it and someone who stays and bed and keeps sleeping?

I think part of it is your focus and your ability to connect with your heart/the part of you that decided to wake up early and go for a run in the first place. But it seems to be much more complicated than that. I would like to get your opinions on the matter.

[SamC]

Another part of it I think is having enough requisite variety to figure out a system where you're disciplined but at the same time not neurotic about it+ the ambition to eventually transcend " dicipline" in the traditional sense. For this a big life purpose and vision is needed.

[Flowerfaeiry]

This is sort of on the topic but slight diversion. I think discipline comes with time and that there is a difference between being disciplined and just forcing yourself to do things. Discipline comes from yea the connection to your heart/purpose but it can easily turn into a blind forcing. The body is very wise and there is probably a reason why one may be "undisciplined" and it's not always "oh they're lazy".

[Seth]

28 minutes ago, DefinitelyNotARobot said:

 

Like let's say someone plans on getting up at 5am and going for a run. What's the difference between someone who goes through with it and someone who stays and bed and keeps sleeping?

 

Maybe I am blind. But the difference I see is that the person that stays in bed has a habit of staying in bed and the person that runs has a habit of running.

[BigDogRaven]

For me personally; I find the strength for the discipline comes from the fact that I am unwilling to accept the consequence of NOT doing it. I just can't face the fact that I was too week to 'get up and run'. IDK, maybe a pride thing. I'm sure it's a flaw, but I also somehow gain strength from knowing that most other lack this strength. Somehow makes me feel better. I now feel this is a flaw in me as it means in some way Im thinking I'm better then others who lack this. NOT who I want to be now tho.  Another paradox......

[blackchair]

discipline comes naturally if you can see/feel the bigger picture....

[DefinitelyNotARobot]

16 hours ago, SamC said:

For this a big life purpose and vision is needed.

I think that's very fundamental to life in general. Nothing moves without a motivation. A ball won't move if there isn't some kind of force making it move.

16 hours ago, Flowerfaeiry said:

The body is very wise and there is probably a reason why one may be "undisciplined" and it's not always "oh they're lazy".

That's an interesting point to think about. I think a lot of people see laziness as some kind of fundamental character trait. They think that a person is lazy because that's what they are. They think that somebody is highly productive because that's just who they are. I know I used to. I know others who still do.

We should start asking for the motivation behind that laziness.

16 hours ago, Seth said:

But the difference I see is that the person that stays in bed has a habit of staying in bed and the person that runs has a habit of running.

Yes and no. It's a habit but it's deeper than that. Let's say person A (Andy) wakes up and goes: "Hell yeah! Let's do this!" while person B (Ben) wakes up and is like: "Nahh I don't wanna...".

What's the difference? Well in that moment where they wake up, both Andy and Ben have a decision to make. Do I listen to that 'positive voice' (I call it positive even though it's completely relative) and go for a run or do I listen to the negative voice and stay in bed? Both voices are present in Andy (part of him still wants to sleep because he is really tired), but the negative one is very subtle and he barely even notices it so he goes for a run. Both voices are present in Ben too, but the negative one is slighty stronger than the positive one and so he falls back asleep. That's where the focus comes in.

You have to feel into that part of you that made the plan to get up and go for a run. Often we don't question our negative voices and we just accept them as truth, without ever questioning whether they are true or not. Whether they represent what we REALLY want. Waking up and establish that new habit so that you can live a more healthy life is probably more important than sleeping for another hour and this is what I mean by focus. What do you REALLY want. Which reality, in your mind, feels better to you? The one where you live a more healthy life or the one where you just keep sleeping all morning? In that moment where he had to make that decisions, Ben decided to keep sleeping. He got distracted by his urge to sleep. In order to be disciplined you need to focus on your 'higher self' and your 'higher goals' (again higher and lowe is entirely relative). You need, and that's where you are right, a habit of choosing the positive/higher voice over the negative/lower one. A habit of connecting to your heart and what you really want from life . Your intuition. Your self-love. You have do overcome the voices which keep you down and have some kind of tunnel vision towards your goals.

But you have to do all of that, like @SamC & @Flowerfaeiry said, in a way where you don't force it. It has to come naturally. You have to slowly develope a habit of being more positive, by using your "positivity muscles".

 

That's an insight I had recently. But since it's so recent I'd like to know what others think about discipline and what their perspectives are. Perhabs I've gotten something wrong or I've missed something.

 

16 hours ago, blackchair said:

discipline comes naturally if you can see/feel the bigger picture....

Thaat makes sense yes. A lot of things do. Like empathy, wisdom or peace.

[fridjonk]

44 minutes ago, DefinitelyNotARobot said:

Both voices are present in Andy (part of him still wants to sleep because he is really tired), but the negative one is very subtle and he barely even notices it so he goes for a run.

I think Andy's negative voice is just as strong. It's just that he's gotten used to pushing through what he doesn't want to do. And that could be seen as discipline, doing what you don't want to do, but know that it would be for the betterment of yourself. Yet where does the line lie between wanting to go for a run vs sleeping in? It's that you must have a tunnel-like vision of where you're headed. A reason good enough that justifies pushing through discomfort. The clarity of the tunnel is the most important aspect. 

If you look at highly disciplined people like David Goggins, he struggles every day to go out for a run, as he described it "Sometimes I sit there for an hour looking at my shoes". It doesn't actually become easier, you become stronger.

 

Edited February 12, 2021 by fridjonk

[DefinitelyNotARobot]

37 minutes ago, fridjonk said:

If you look at highly disciplined people like David Goggins, he struggles every day to go out for a run, as he described it "Sometimes I sit there for an hour looking at my shoes". It doesn't actually become easier, you become stronger.

That's actually good to know. I wouldn't have thought that someone like David Goggins still has that kind of struggle. Seems like I was wrong assuming otherwise.

What would you say does it take to cultivate that kind of tunnel vision? I'm currently trying to cut out some of the distractions that keep me from getting where I want to be. Sometimes I'm just amazed by the level of determination people like David Goggins or Muhammad Ali have. Obviously they aren't perfect and a lot of it has to do with ego, but it's still very inspiring!

[Just Timothy]

I think you just gotta be present. When you are in this condition you can make any choice, doesn’t matter which one.

[fridjonk]

4 hours ago, DefinitelyNotARobot said:

What would you say does it take to cultivate that kind of tunnel vision?

Be precise in what you want and why you're doing it. The more bullshit you shed, the clearer your tunnel becomes. Then it just becomes about consistency and sticking to what you're after no matter what reason you come up with to not do it. 

Yet life unfolds in chapters and phases (see Leo's vid), so sometimes one just isn't motivated and that's totally fine. It comes back eventually, I've also found forcing it to be less productive. 

[martins name]

I think discipline is a little overrated. It's better to nurture positive behavior. If you want to eat healthy then spending extra time cooking delicious nutritious food is more efficient than expending mental energy on dominating yourself into abstaining from unhealthy food. You have limited will power but infinite ability to be nurtured.

One part of discipline is going from the infinite possibilities of the mental realm to the limited reality of the physical realm. You can imagine everything, you can only do one thing. Discipline is choosing that one thing.

Edited February 12, 2021 by martins name