Why are you inconsistent?

Story time!

Once upon a time, there was a young man named John, who, just like you, struggled with feelings of inadequacy and lack of discipline. He found it hard to maintain continuity in anything he started, and no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't seem to get any discipline. He felt lost and overwhelmed, and often found himself wondering, "Why can't I do this? Why do I feel so incompetent?"

But one day, John decided that enough was enough. He was tired of feeling lost and frustrated, and he knew that if he wanted things to change, he would have to take action. So, he set out on a journey to discover the secrets of self-discipline.

He began by setting realistic and achievable goals for himself. Instead of trying to conquer the world all at once, he broke down his larger goals into smaller, manageable steps. He also prioritized his goals and focused on the most important ones, which helped him to stay motivated and maintain continuity.

John also established a daily routine and made a schedule for himself. He set specific times for completing tasks, and he set reminders for himself to stay on track. By creating a routine, John was able to make progress towards his goals, and he found that he was able to achieve more than he ever thought possible.

As he journeyed on, he discovered the power of mindfulness. By practicing mindfulness, John was able to stay grounded, focused and calm, which made it easier for him to stay disciplined. He also surrounded himself with positive, supportive and disciplined people, which helped him to stay motivated and on track.

Finally, John learned the importance of rewarding himself for his hard work. He found that by giving himself small rewards along the way, he was able to stay motivated and encouraged to continue working towards his goals.

John's journey was not an easy one, but through patience, persistence and a willingness to learn, he was able to overcome his feelings of inadequacy and lack of discipline. And just like the hero of the ancient Greek mythology, Theseus, who found his way out of the labyrinth with the help of Ariadne's thread, John found his way out of the maze of his own mind, with the help of discipline, routine, mindfulness and rewards.

One of the reasons why self-discipline is so difficult, is because the things you want to do are often things where your Present Self has to do most of the work. But your Future Self gets most of the benefits. And your Present Self doesn't like that deal.

A normal person’s default setting is instead of doing the hard work, laziness is chosen because it’s easy. Uncomfortable work projects are avoided and easier tasks are preferred. People prefer to spend money on small things they want now than to save money for big things they may want later. Debt is preferred over saving and investing. A lack of discipline to do the hard things in life now, many times leads to a much harder life later on.

We, as humans, are pretty bad at staying motivated. Motivation comes and goes faster than we can harness long-term results, so it’s never something to depend on.

So why does the flightiness of motivation make discipline hard?

Unfortunately, we usually need motivation to even think about building self-discipline. We need that initial spark to get us going.

Remember, developing self-discipline takes time and effort, but with patience and persistence, you too can achieve your goals and become the person you want to be.

~Riyan Immack