Let's Talk About Self-Discipline

elskeleton

Yo yo yo my mans and my womans and my non binary friends. High fives all around. I'm an easily demotivated iNdIViDuAl tryna' beef up. The problem with motivation, as we all know, is that it's simply exhaustible by nature, so we wanna fall back on self-discipline, right? Good plan Perfect plan How the flip we gon' go about that.

Creative deviations aside,

how do you keep disciplined? What stufF do you find effective in keeping self-disciplined?

livingleanlivingclean

"just do it".

My workouts are scheduled, I meet my husband at the gym - I can't not be there! Food is harder, but you just have to do that too as you aren't going to succeed if you don't provide yourself with appropriate fuel for your goals.

estherdragonbat

I got disciplined in other areas and it's carried over. I write fan-fiction as a hobby. And I used to wait around for inspiration to strike... which it sometimes did.

And then I realized something.

In university, I majored in English Lit. Which meant a lot of papers. And the standard penalty for a late submission without getting an extension approved was being docked half a letter-grade per day until you hit "F". So, 1 day late meant the highest grade you could get was an A-, 2 days meant a B+ etc. And never, not once, did I hear of anybody requesting an extension for reasons like, "I had writer's block". "I wasn't inspired." "My muse died". Somehow, when you knew it HAD to be in, it got done. Maybe it wasn't great, but it was there.

So, I decided to see if I could be my own slave-driver as it were. From that point onward, my goal was to write a scene a night. If I posted a chapter, I could take a night off. If I was doing something writing-related (review of an earlier section; research), that was fine. But otherwise, unless my computer broke or I was on vacation, a scene a night. No excuses. No 'trying'. Do or do not.

That was over six years ago and I've stuck with it. I don't wait for inspiration to hit; I hunt it down. The last couple of vacations, I even emailed my work in progress to myself and worked on it while away, because the ideas kept coming.

When weight loss became a priority, some of that dedication transferred over. And when I decided to incorporate fitness, the same. I don't feel like walking today? Well, there's a glider in the basement; I can do that. But cardio is happening. I strength-train with dumbbells in the basement five days a week, whether I'm in the mood or not. (Okay, when I had surgery and was medically prohibited from lifting for a few weeks, I listened to my doctor; I'm not an idiot. But as soon as I was cleared to lift again, I was back at it.)

It's basically pushing myself when I'm not enthused until eventually it becomes a habit. And good habits are as hard to break as bad ones.

Diatonic12

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818701/the-myth-of-motivation-and-what-you-need-instead/p22

Maybe this will help. Dig deep and find the greater purpose. There are people here who've been doing this for years and years. The other day someone asked if any of this was was really worth it as they had the tendency to yo-yo and throw the towel in. When someone knocks themselves right out of the saddle before they even leave the starting gate I know the odds are against ever making it to the midway, let alone reaching the goal.

I know the stats of those who are still hanging in there at the 5 year mark. You've got to want this from the top of your head to the bottom of your toes. There will be cycles of boredom but I suggest surrounding yourself with those who are willing to gut it out come hail or high water. It's contagious.

PeachBean

I hate motivational attitudes with a burning passion and my kind of motivation is "[insert expletive here], are you really gonna do that to yourself?". Most of the time the answer is yes and the instant regret and hour of moping in bed later I generally decide not to do it again. Most of the time it's internal shaming saying "You literally just worked out for 20 minutes and that is NOT going to cancel out that burger you want. No, I don't care if you technically burned 500 calories that's not how it works" making a frowney face and having something healthier but just as delicious (grilled chicken with stirfry veg mmmmmmmmmm).

elskeleton

Mari22na wrote: »

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818701/the-myth-of-motivation-and-what-you-need-instead/p22

Maybe this will help. Dig deep and find the greater purpose. There are people here who've been doing this for years and years. The other day someone asked if any of this was was really worth it as they had the tendency to yo-yo and throw the towel in. When someone knocks themselves right out of the saddle before they even leave the starting gate I know the odds are against ever making it to the midway, let alone reaching the goal.

I know the stats of those who are still hanging in there at the 5 year mark. You've got to want this from the top of your head to the bottom of your toes. There will be cycles of boredom but I suggest surrounding yourself with those who are willing to gut it out come hail or high water. It's contagious.

I'm such a dolt, I didn't see there was already a simar thread. Thanks for linking!

And everyone else's input are super. 👌

elskeleton

PeachBean wrote: »

I hate motivational attitudes with a burning passion and my kind of motivation is "[insert expletive here], are you really gonna do that to yourself?". Most of the time the answer is yes and the instant regret and hour of moping in bed later I generally decide not to do it again. Most of the time it's internal shaming saying "You literally just worked out for 20 minutes and that is NOT going to cancel out that burger you want. No, I don't care if you technically burned 500 calories that's not how it works" making a frowney face and having something healthier but just as delicious (grilled chicken with stirfry veg mmmmmmmmmm).

Badass. 😎

Candyspun

I try to look at it in the mindset that everything we do is a choice. And I remind myself that doing nothing is also a choice, even though it doesn't feel like it at the time. I believe strongly that I CAN do it, but I have to DO it. In other words, I understand how the numbers work; how calories in and calories out works, but I have to do something to get those numbers. I have different levels of ability during the month, but I can always do something within my capabilities. So really, my mantra is, 'do what you can do today'. It's been working well

TavistockToad

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/40735688#Comment_40735688

jjpptt2

nevermind. it doesn't apply.

88olds

I found discipline in the gym. The foundations of discipline are faith in your program, and trust in incrementalism. I found discipline in the weight room. When I started I could see a number of dedicated lifters who I figured must have discipline. What was the magic they had discovered?

Magic? There was none. At some point they just stuck around long enough for the system to start working. A healthy guy, eating enough protein doing sets and reps, will build muscle. It will work. It’s how our bodies are built. It’s science. We only need to put in the time. That’s both time in the gym and time on the calendar. Incrementalism will do it’s thing over time.

It’s not just weight training. Performance will improve over time doing any exercise.

Weight training can be reverse engineered to weight loss. Hit your calorie number, keep your food diary, keep planning and problem solving and put in the time. It will work.

Just my own observation, people destroy their efforts because of the calendar. Incrementalism needs time.