7 – The Need for a Disciplined Mind

Introduction

Some of you reading this will immediately leave the page, as you say to yourself, of course you need to have a disciplined mind, not just in business but in life in general. Others will look at the title of the need for a disciplined mind and say what on earth is he talking about.

My own thoughts are that if you mind is not disciplined then your life and business could be somewhat chaotic, to say the least.

It is not just about being able to accomplish your goals, in either business or life in general, it is much more than that, as hopefully you will see in this article. You may be surprised to learn that there are a number of levels of discipline or that this article could easily be three or four times longer than I intend to make it, such is the depth that the subject of the disciplined mind can go to. No cracks about another book please!

You Actually Do Discipline

It is fair to say that there are a lot of misconceptions, when we talk about discipline. Many of us have served in the armed forces so are used to the military type of discipline, with lots of shouting and bawling, then there is the classroom discipline, but here we are talking not just of the personal traits which some people confuse with personal discipline, this is much deeper.

To be disciplined requires action, it is what you choose to do and choose not to do, in other words it is based on how you perform, doing things that you would rather avoid, having the ability to do this is discipline. If during an emotional disagreement, you had the choice of letting things be, most people would do that, discipline is having the strength to deal with these matters.

If you have a disciplined mind this gives you the ability to carry out the tasks which you said you would do, if you make a promise to someone, whatever it might be, then stick to your word, even if at the time you no longer feel like doing it, that is discipline

Behaving like this does improve your reputation and standing, as one who keeps one’s word, after all we agree to do something then have second thoughts, we feel a little uncomfortable about actually doing what we had promised.

This is similar to deciding to carry out a course of action, then not feeling like doing it, this is discipline, when you decide to do something then do it.

When you are in a relationship, you must also demonstrate discipline, this is usually in the form of being patient. You are with that person for a reason, so you need to show patience and understanding, should they demonstrate a trait or habit which you either do not like or approve off. Remember they might think the same about some of your habits.

Please do remember we are all work in progress, no matter how old we are, nobody is perfect.

There are a number of differing types of discipline, these include;

• Mental Discipline
• Emotional Discipline
• Physical Discipline and finally
• Sexual Discipline

It is not my intention here to develop these forms of discipline, I feel that as you are reading this then you are mature enough to be able to understand the deeper meaning behind them all.

In finishing this paragraph, please remember that each day will be filled with many opportunities to increase and improve your personal discipline.

Adopting a Key Mindset

Sometimes this is difficult to accept, that we have a mindset that actually stops you from becoming more disciplined. This is because you hang onto certain beliefs and ideas which are actually holding you back from developing your mind being more disciplined.

It will be helpful if you could adopt the following mindsets in your quest for a disciplined mind:

• Treat discipline as though it were a mental muscle. If you wish to increase your personal level of self-discipline, as daft as it sounds you do have to challenge it. As an example you always get up just in time to catch the bus for work, try improving that by getting up five minutes earlier, then after a week or so by ten minutes, then fifteen, not only can you shower in comfort, but have a cup of tea or coffee, possibly even a slice of toast. The more pressure that you put on your discipline, then the stronger mental muscles become.
• Your Discipline becomes weaker when you run away from difficulties. Adopting this mindset is important, if you react to fear, then it makes you a much less disciplined person, that is if you were disciplined in the first place. In life we have to face up to many things which we would rather not do, This does tend to make life interesting as well as frightening in some cases, but we must face up to these problems, would you believe that the more you confront these problems, the easier they become to deal with. You must understand that persistently giving in to these problems will make you a much less disciplined person.
• The more often that you do things the better the performance. Simply repeating things does improve your performance, as a very simple example I go for a walk most mornings for my paper, the fact that I go every day does not stop me from noticing different things, it might be a flower in bloom, a new car, and many other things. You may ask what has this got to do with discipline, a lot, you are concentrating your mind by being disciplined in going for that walk each day, it is repetition, but your mind is being conditioned to it. It is almost as if my mind is telling me that each morning I must go that walk.
• Becoming competent increases your confidence. We often read of self-esteem, but confidence does not flow from it, it is in fact self-esteem that flows from competence, please do try to adopt this mindset.
• Remember momentum is always on your side. If you can learn to believe that moment is on your side, eventually you will get to the point when you will find it becoming almost impossible to stop, so why worry about starting, you will be in control. Just keep on pushing and trying.

How Discipline Benefits you Socially

Many people, for some reason believe that if you have a disciplined mind then you are not capable of being sociable. They get the wrong impression that if you are disciplined in your thoughts and mind, then you not fun to be with, the old-fashioned “stick in the mud”.

The truth is that those who have a disciplined mind are usually in a better frame of mind and more fun to be with, as they are ready to enjoy a social occasion.

Among the many reasons why being disciplined in the mind can benefit a person socially are:

 

• People tend to trust you more.

• You tend to have stronger relationships
• You always appear to be more confident
• As you tend to have an air of happiness about you, it makes you appear more attractive.
• As you will be good at managing your time, you appear to have more of it.
• A disciplined person does not fall for temptation.
• You are able to be more relaxed and therefore enjoy your social time.

  One who has a disciplined mind is able to enjoy their social time a lot more, as they are not thinking about what they could be doing instead.

Some Ideas For Better Discipline

If you have a disciplined mind you are able to motivate yourself to meet whatever goals you have set yourself. Outside help is not needed you are your own person.

Having a disciplined mind can help in a number of ways, these include:

1. Get up on time, this was mentioned earlier, but it is important that you start the day right, not rushing about because you fancied a lie in.
2. Always act respectfully towards others.
3. Ensure that you eat healthily, it is discipline of the mind to say no to a burger, and yes to a healthy salad.
4. Have a daily exercise regime, if it is only a few push-ups before your shower, or a brisk walk, but exercise demonstrates a healthy and disciplined mind.
5. Ensure that you meet your deadlines.
6. Those with a disciplined mind avoid temptation, they are strong enough to say NO.
7. Keep your word, if you say that a task will be finished tomorrow, ensure that it is, that is a disciplined mind.
8. Creating good habits, those with a disciplined mind always create good habits.

   If you have a disciplined mind it does not mean that you cannot have fun, far from it, the ability to control your actions is considered by many to be essential to not only your happiness, but also your success.

Conclusion

As always do so hope that you enjoyed this article, more importantly were able to gain something from it, please do leave any comments which you may have below. They are very much appreciated as it the time that you spend making them.

The next article will be “8 – Meditate in ten minutes”

Be happy, Healthy and Wealthy

Stuart (aka Edwin)

https:learningandwealth.com