Set Higher Standards by YogiRavi

Discipline is probably the single biggest factor to personal success in anything. Back in high school I knew quite a few friends who seemed to do pretty well in school and sports by doing the bare minimum – or at least a pretty modest amount of work. They did just enough homework, just enough studying, just enough training to do OK – and let some natural talent pick up the slack. However, those who really excelled at their craft – they were incredibly disciplined.

The people at the top of the class worked incredibly hard. The people making the state team in swimming put in tons of yardage in the pool during the season AND off-season. There was a big difference between those who did OK and those who really excelled – and those who stood out really had a strong work ethic (and in the case of sports, some good talent to boot).

The thing about discipline is that it is cumulative. If you are disciplined enough to eat a “salad with every meal” (something I frequently do) – over time – your body will reap the benefits. You will get the proper nutrients into your system, have less room in your belly for garbage and learn to like the taste of salad. It is cumulative and works its magic over months of practice, not after just a few days.

If you are disciplined enough to go to bed 1 hour earlier every night and get up 1 hour earlier every morning – you’ll reap the benefits over the long term. You’ll get extra quality time when the world is asleep to get work done. You’ll be more apt to exercise and move in the morning before settling into a sedentary routine (assuming you have a desk job or sit in a classroom all day). You’ll also have less opportunity to give into the late night munchies (a bad side affect of staying up too late!). Discipline with your time in this way will pay huge dividends over a few months (maybe even in a few weeks) – but you need to give it time.

The challenge with discipline is that it requires you to make an effort consistently over an extended period of time. The upshot is that after a certain point – the discipline becomes “the norm” and no longer requires effort. Getting to this point, though, has been the bane of many new years resolutions!

Think about where in your life you could use a little more discipline. How will a new or improved habit change the quality of your life for the better over the long term? What is stopping you from doing it now? Try out that new way of being for 30 days and see what happens.