Discipline is simpler than we think.

I always thought discipline had to look intense.

The extreme routines, never missing a day, or crazy meal plans and diets.

I realized recently that it is much simpler than that. That it is ok to miss a day every once an awhile, sometimes life can get in the way.

There is this idea nowadays that if you want a life of being fit, financially successful, have a family or even all three that somehow you cannot have friends, a social life, or enjoy yourself at all. Everything has to be all business all the time. Discipline can give you more freedom in life but by adopting an attitude such as this one I think it does the exact opposite. You have to start small.

You will find this flow in your life when you allow yourself to get excited about the process over the result. I spoke about this briefly in a recent post but I think it is very important. In order to become something you first need to become that thing, I know that might sound like some backwards riddle but its true, let’s say for example you want to become a body builder, once you identify the things that they do on a daily basis, train, eat clean, recover, etc. you must set out and start doing those things in order to get that result. People think that becoming a bodybuilder is only about getting on the stage and posing but there is so much more to it, and if people realized that they are much closer to being the thing that they want they might actually slow down and enjoy themselves.

I know people in my personal life who say things like “If I just had X I would be happy” or “If I just got to X point I would be happier” but what they don’t seem to realize is the journey is the exciting part. I remember playing football as a kid, and we were obviously working toward winning a championship, and once we had achieved that goal and the season was over I remember just wanting to hang around with my friends at practice again, or go on another road trip to a tournament. It’s with the benefit of hindsight as I get older that I realize the lesson, The person you become in the pursuit is far more important than the person you imagine at the finish line.

I have started to apply these principles in my own life, and it feels like I am making more progress now than I ever have because it allows me to still enjoy my life while in the pursuit of something as opposed to restricting my life to the point of misery.

I believe this is where confidence is found. Not in the outcome, but in the gap between what you say and what you do. For example, if you say to yourself that you want to be better in the kitchen and you say “I love cooking” or “I cook all the time” but in actuality you only cook a couple of times a month and don’t always enjoy it, than your confidence in the kitchen will likely be low as the gap between what you say and what you do is wide. Once you commit to being the person you want or say you are the confidence starts to show.

If I can leave you with one thing, it is that you should start small, and try and stay as consistent as you can but make sure to still enjoy the small things that make life great.