Are you disciplined enough to make lasting changes? This newsletter has explored the link between inspiration and getting things done, and how having the inspiration to do something or make changes doesn’t automatically mean you will get up and start doing. To get up and start doing requires either willpower or discipline. And there is a serious issue with relying on willpower.

Willpower is a limited resource that can easily become depleted. Depleted willpower then leads to a feeling of being overwhelmed when you try to resist temptations or make sustained positive changes. That in turn results in you potentially giving up or experiencing guilt when the inevitable slip up happens. “Somebody take those chocolate biscuits away. They are staring at me!”

So how do you turn that inspiration to make changes into discipline instead of relying on willpower?

The quote at the top of this missive blew my mind. How true, and how simple a definition is that? Put the needs of your future self ahead of your wants right now. WOW! 

Discipline is a skill that can be developed through small changes in habits and mindset rather than it being an inherent trait that we either have or don’t have.  Everything we do is about habits, so that that big goal you are chasing becomes a byproduct of your everyday actions. In essence, what we might think of as discipline is actually a series of habits.

Leveraging four key elements to build your discipline can be very powerful as you create habits. By intentionally using FOCUS, EMOTION, AGITATION and REPETITION (hence the acronym FEAR in the title of this edition), you can create powerful and lasting habits which just become something that you do each day that don’t require willpower or discipline.

Can you focus on your ‘Why’, and force yourself off the sofa to do some form of exercise, or not put the chocolate biscuits in the shopping trolley? Your ‘Why’ is the emotional driver behind that focus. Can you visualise a healthier, stronger, fitter you in the future? Can you make the cost of inaction emotional to elicit a response? 

And then comes the agitation. Do you need to shake up your daily routine? If your brain sees the same surroundings that you have been unhealthy in, for however long, it will automatically think “Oh… we are following that script”. However if you change things up and disrupt your environment your brain has no chance to default to an older script of unhealthy behaviours. And once you have disrupted and agitated the scenery for a better future self, then you repeat the healthier behaviours to make them habitual.

Sometimes you might need a coach – Hi! That’s me! 😃 – to help you realise your vision for your future self and to help you utilise the focus and emotion you feel when you want to make significant changes to your life. And then, the coach can also help with the agitation and repetition to create lasting, powerful habits that will in turn realise that vision. 

So if you would like help with creating and then realising that vision of a healthier, stronger, fitter you, get in touch as I’d love to help you be all of those things and prioritise the needs of your future self over your present self.