Comments on: Discipline is an illusion; Motivate yourself instead

By: Everything Counts

Everything Counts — Sat, 23 May 2009 19:25:05 +0000

Excellent post as usual. A totally different way to think about discipline. I also believe that environment plays a major role to keep you motivated.

By: Rick Weight Loss

Rick Weight Loss — Sat, 23 May 2009 18:22:35 +0000

building habits needs time,
agree with you, focus one by one

By: Dr Pascal

Dr Pascal — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 21:59:33 +0000

So true.. I don’t have “decipline” yet I have accomplished much in life. I am currently working on being *on time* for things..somehow I got away with it for a long time.. and finally focusing on working on this. I am so excited! I reward myself with cool colorful stickers ..I first learned about this in a Pediatricians office, and it’s working wonders for me in my late 30s.

Cheers.

By: La Discipline est une illusion; Motivez-vous à la place | Habitudes Zen

La Discipline est une illusion; Motivez-vous à la place | Habitudes Zen — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 11:44:26 +0000

[...] Article original par Léo Babauta sur Zen Habits. Si vous appréciez cet article, partagez le sur Scoopeo ou d’autres portails sociaux. Merci ! Ces icônes sont des liens vers des sites de partage de signet sociaux où les lecteurs peuvent partager et découvrir de nouveaux liens. [...]

By: david william peace

david william peace — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 16:59:13 +0000

I understand what you mean by having something within which is going to move you towards action anyway. I like the fact that I can get up almost every morning and run and have a great work ethis. With this said though, there are things that exist for me to do outside of my usual habits. Things I need to do in order to grow beyond my comfort zone, like keeping my business alive by calling prospects. For this, I have to anchor myself to a state of discipline.

Also, I find that the word discipline is a useful word to convey to people who are wanting to stay in their comfort zone out of fear.

Certain books such as Chuck Norris’s “Zen solutions to real problems” and anything concerning a successfu persn’t autobiography are great to refer them to in these cases. I still read them myself.

By: Peg

Peg — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 04:11:01 +0000

Surprised that this particular link does not have updates
for 2008-2009 comments. Many good blessings for health
are presented on your site.

I particularlly enjoyed the reference to motivation & reward.
The reward part I miss almost all the time when I think
about what I need to be doing (sometimes surviving)

Thanks for your serious thoughts on the important matter
of living comfortably within your own skin.

Peg

By: 31 Causes of Failure #5: Lack of Self-Discipline

31 Causes of Failure #5: Lack of Self-Discipline — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 00:36:46 +0000

[...] the two most important characteristics you can build INTO yourself. I don’t think anyone is naturally self-disciplined or naturally undisciplined. It’s a simple matter of establishing patterns and altering your behavior consistently. You [...]

By: Zissou

Zissou — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 14:34:14 +0000

Thanks to everyone for the work and comitment to this useful site.

Something that I have found very useful to motivate myself has been to look at the behaviour I want to change and instead of trying to work out why I sholdn’t do it, I try to understand why I do do it what are the deep beliefs and emotions that I have that lead me to behave in that way. Then systematically un-pick them. I have found that all behaviours that are no use to me or even detrimental have at their base some flawed thinking or belief. By removing the reasons for the behaviour it becomes pointless and so the change comes more easily.

By: dlasiebie.pl

dlasiebie.pl — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 22:35:43 +0000

[...] Tekst zainspirowany artykułem Discipline is an illusion; Motivate yourself instead [...]

By: Leo

Leo — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 23:13:20 +0000

@Dee Butler: Your question actually has two parts, so I’ll answer them briefly:

1) If you have lots of ideas for goals but aren’t sure which one to pick, you’re not alone. Many people are like that. I can’t give you a definitive answer, but I would suggest you spend a little time giving this some thought, searching your soul for what’s really important to you, and where you want to be in life. Of course, you don’t have to pick just one goal in life, but you should start with one and then move on to the next on your list after you achieve the first.

2) If you aren’t motivated to do your goal, there are some things you can do: a) make a list of the reasons you want to do the goal, and the benefits from it — those should be the driving reasons for doing it, and you need some good ones to really motivate yourself; b) tell as many people about your goal as possible, and be accountable to the public — this will really motivate you; c) get a partner and help motivate each other; d) join the Zen Habits forum (link at the top of this page) and log in every day, doing a 30-day challenge for your goal; d) determine some rewards that you’ll give yourself (and make them really good).

For more on this, see the Top 20 Motivation Hacks (in the sidebar to the left).