How to pump the skill of discipline in yourself. It is more important than motivation

Many people, in order to start acting, spend a huge amount of time searching for motivation, although at the same time they could disciplinedly follow a step-by-step plan and achieve real results.

psychologist, specialist in integrative and applied psychology

Without the ability to fulfill a daily plan in a disciplined manner, any motivation will be useless.

Motivation sooner or later ends. This is due to the fact that the path to the result can be long, and it is the end result and its consequences that motivate us. The brain, in the absence of intermediate results during a long journey to the goal, begins to doubt the correctness of the activity, as it is important for it to get results here and now.

The brain is evolutionarily aimed at saving energy, so any complex activity is energy-consuming for it. Naturally, the brain strives to optimize processes. And what motivates us is perceived as important only because it will bring positive emotions.

The brain is not particularly interested in the end result, but the consequences matter. And the trouble is that the brain knows where it can get this range of emotions faster than by achieving the goal. Any activity that conserves energy is encouraged by the release of cannabinoids, dopamine, oxytocin, and other feel-good hormones.

Without the ability to put willful effort into routine activities, eventually your brain will beat you to the punch and you’ll start getting distracted by all sorts of useless activities. When this happens, it may seem like you lack motivation, but that’s not the point. The body has elementally found an easier way to get the hormonal cocktail. And this is where discipline will be crucial.

Set a goal and make a plan

It is mandatory to have a specific goal. If you can’t see it, it’s almost impossible to get yourself to take action. The goal should have a brain-understandable outcome and a deadline. Understandable means measurable. First of all, this is due to the fact that measurability allows you to break down the goal into its components. When there is an understanding of what it consists of, it becomes easier to “assemble” it, and any assembly, like a quest, causes pleasure for the brain.

A deadline allows you to estimate the amount of effort and distribute it in time. Then break the goal into stages: make a sequential list of intermediate results. A clear algorithm will eliminate unnecessary fears and reduce stress levels when achieving the goal, and the experience of small victories will help keep you motivated, as you will feel more confident with each successful checkpoint.

Set rules and limits

A set of rules that will allow you to accomplish tasks is strictly mandatory for discipline. We all subconsciously seek pleasure and fulfill instinctual needs. If you don’t control them, they control you.

Take something that is meaningful or pleasurable to you, like watching a TV series. Set yourself conditions under which you will have to do all the things you have to do in order to watch a TV series. Until you accomplish your goals, don’t start watching. Make watching the series an incentive for yourself. If you slip up, do something you don’t like to do, like doing 100 push-ups.

Make a list of specific actions to form a habit

In addition to a consistent plan, you need to have a daily to-do list to accomplish your goal. The ability to perform these actions on a consistent basis depends on habit. And it is formed within a framework of 40 repetitions. To make those 40 repetitions possible, go back to the previous point.

If you do the same actions systematically for 40 days, a unit of consciousness will be formed in the future, which will begin to realize it automatically. Create a checklist for each day in which you keep track of these daily tasks.

Keep a rhythm and regimen

The ability to be disciplined is strongly influenced by following a routine. The central nervous system (CNS) has its own rhythms that need to be taken into account. Otherwise leads to the fact that sooner or later the brain takes its own, “knocking” you out of the activity. Breaks and warm-up, work and rest regimes were invented for a reason.

Consult specialists

The formation of the skill of discipline is carried out in childhood. This is a mental function, which is based on the ability to keep your attention on any activity for a long time, without distraction. Such a skill can be laid and at an older age, but it requires a methodical approach, psychological adjustment and the use of psychotechnologies.

Satisfy your needs

Even if you are busy doing something you love, the consequences in the form of satisfied needs are important for the brain. We ourselves do not notice how we promise ourselves some bonuses for completing a project on time. For example, a new purchase, a trip or a trip to the spa. But the brain controls every thought, even the most imperceptible to the consciousness. As a result, when we complete a project, it expects the promised gifts. If the promise is not kept, the body takes a high price for it.

For example, we wanted to buy ourselves a new blouse after successful completion of the work, but we did not buy it. The brain necessarily through the hormones of “bad mood” begins to destroy those strategies of activity that did not lead to the desired.

The psyche will absolutely refuse to repeat the activity that does not satisfy the need. Especially if the situation is repeated several times. Be attentive to the promises to yourself and the desires of the deep structures of the psyche.

Lead a full life

Unsatisfaction of basic needs, such as adequate nutrition, rest, and socialization, lead to an inability to concentrate on any activity as the brain tries to find a way to finally satisfy instinctual urges. Dissatisfaction with sexuality, for example, causes irritability that makes it impossible to focus on daily tasks.