"Nobody wants to tell you why discipline is so important. Discipline is the strongest form of self-love. It is ignoring current pleasures for bigger rewards to come. It's loving yourself enough to give yourself everything you've ever wanted," - Joanna Rahier
Interpretation - Embarking on this journey of reading and interpreting a quote every week, was one out of complete compulsion. I just randomly thought, what if I did this? To which my ISM teacher replied, "That's fine, but make sure you actually do it, don't just half it,". I knew that if I stuck to this, not only could I help myself learn commitment and accountability, but I could also show self-discipline.
When it comes to any new journey, it always sounds fun in theory, and the first few days are good, but after a while most people just fall off. It takes anywhere from 25 to 90 days to build a habit, a very wide range that is hard to decipher. However, I'm going to go with the smallest number, for my sake, 25 days. So, if the first week, in my opinion, is usually driven by motivation, then it takes about 2 weeks of pure discipline to build a habit. At least, in this very simplified example.
As James Clear reinstates throughout his book numerous times, it is not about the goal itself, but the system you will put in place in order to reach it. For an example, I will put myself on the chopping board. A clean room, that's what I want. I always feel better, more productive, and just overall less stressed when my room is orderly. So, one a week or biweekly I will spend an entire night cleaning it up, doing my lauding, folding clothes, vacuuming, etc. Have you caught the problem? I reach my goal of an organized room, but after a while, it just returns to its messy state.
The author argues the importance of the cue-routine-reward habit loop. In an easier example, waking up early. The cue is your alarm, your response is either to get up or to press snooze, and the reward is either getting more sleep or having a productive morning. So, in my instance I must find a daily or bi-daily system in order to keep my room at maintenance level. I guess that is my homework for this week. What's yours? Reevaluate the goals you have in your life and ask yourself if you are actively working towards them. If not, how can you incorporate a daily routine to reach that goal in the future?
- Samantha Stein
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