WEEK 94: DISCIPLE EVEN IN THE FACE OF CHALLENGE

We must all suffer two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret or disappointment.   Jim Rohn

REFLECTIONS (learnings and actions): 

 Awhile back I mentioned an experiment where a marshmallow is placed in front of a child and then told they will receive another one if they waited. What is surprising is the amount of success a person attains is correlated to what the child did next. 

How you might ask? It comes down to discipline. At some point you will need to be disciplined and take the proper actions instead of becoming distracted and doing what is EASY.  Or you choose the initial pain of discipline over the ease of distraction to enjoy the gratification of success later.

This has been a game changer for me in the past month or so when we have packed up our house in Brazil and moved to our temporary home in the US. 

The challenges of moving with a toddler and infant to a different country is no joke: schedules off, food choices different, new routines to learn...change at its max.

Now there would be less resistance if we were to give in at times and do what was easier, but I have learned it is the act of being disciplined which helps you cultivate a skill that will help you achieve any goal. 

For example, our son is usually a great eater and eats vegetables, meat, fruit, and other options at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. However, the move has changed him to a picky eater only wanting to eat certain things. 

Now the easy thing would be for us to just say it is the move and let him eat whatever he wants, knowing he is not getting all the nutrients he needs. 

This is similar to the marshmallow experiment where the child does not wait 15 minutes and automatically eats it. Less resistance. 

However, Meggo and I have been disciplined to test new ways of getting him to eat nutritious food even if he does not want it at first. It is challenging, but it is starting to pay off. 

Now some of you might be asking if we some of us are lucky and born with the gift of will power and some are not? 

The answer is NO!

Lets say I told Tae, my son, he can get juice if he eats three more bites of vegetables. If I give him juice afterwards, then it provides a positive experience and he learns by doing action A, eat three bites, he gets result B, juice. 

Where as, if he ate the three bites and I did not give him juice, he would learn doing action A, will not result in B. Thus, teaching him what he is told and what actually happens are different. Thus, this gives him an inconsistent experience, which will in turn make him choose what is most gratifying at the time. 

Now this is HUGE as this idea of cultivating DISCIPLINE over what is easy can help you crush any goal you have. 

Imagine this process

1.Setting a goal.

2. Identifying the actions which will accelerate you towards it

3. Being DISCIPLINED to those actions. 

Would you achieve your goals? 

YES....and I can guarantee so much more, as this is what I have been able to accomplish through the LYP! 

Thus, throw the notion out you are a person who does NOT have will power and start giving yourself EASY experiences where you can be DISCIPLINED over the easy choice. 

For example, buckling your seat belt every time you get in a car or flossing every day. Simple choices, but you start cultivating this idea of being DISCIPLINED over what is easy. 

This will help you when you apply it to a larger goals and eventually becomes ingrained in your daily habits on the path to achieving your dreams!

What Went Well?

Moving between countries with two little ones but devoted to my LYP everyday!

What is something we can improve? What actions can we take next week?

Worrying less. There is no way you can think of every possibility or outocme, yet this is what we do a majority of the time. This freezes you from taking action.  

Thus, Identify steps to move forward. Iterate and focus on your principles, daily decisions and actions, to make progress. 

What is something to avoid next week?

Expectation...thinking everything to turn out a certain way. FLOW, rather than constrict. 

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PLANNING (Implementation Intention):  You will follow through 2X to 3X more likely to complete your weekly task than you normally would just by filling in the following statement.

I plan to complete the weekly task [day] at [time] in [location]. 

A reminder you might have to use multiple Implementation Intentions in order to follow through.

EXECUTION (strategies used):  From week to week, I use a combination of many strategies. There are always some which are used more than others depending on what comes up, but I wanted to offer a link to all them at once. 

My advice is to identify the I CAN'T statement you tell yourself during the most. Then find a strategy below the statement which resonates with you, and then start using it. 

Enjoy!