Self Discipline

Self discipline - conscious control that is oriented towards successful outcomes by overcoming obstacles or impediments.

I allowed discipline to falter this week with regards to my training. I was still very productive and able to achieve balance in numerous areas of my life. With extra days off, I tackled some overdue deep cleaning and organizing at home. Cleaning and decluttering gives me a sense of accomplishment and pride and improves my mental health, I sleep better and productivity increases. Overall I feel there was a really good balance of kung fu, taking care of me, my home, work, quality time spent with my dad, family and friends.

With so many other things getting done it felt like something had to give, and that was my training. I know guilt does not help me to move forward and if left unchecked and it can lead to more guilt. Knowing this I focused on the successes and achievements throughout the week. I thought I had done a pretty good job working through everything and staying positive. I missed something important though.

After class on Saturday I realized that ego had once again snuck in without me noticing. I was so focused on eliminating any guilt and looking for the positive, I completely forgot about the underlying issue. I had pushed discipline and the consistency I'd built off to the side. Even though numerous things went right, I didn't go deep enough and ask myself what went wrong and why.

So, what went wrong?

1st - Ego had snuck in and did a very good job of building me up. I told myself: "It's just a couple of days with reduced training and there are numerous positives to replace that which didn't get done." I felt pretty darn good with everything that I had accomplished, patting myself on the back.

2nd - I didn't go deep enough. I failed to see or ask why I wasn't able to successfully practice self discipline and continue to build consistency. A restart will only take me so far without a plan of action and some deeper reflection to help mitigate veering off track in the future. 

Reflecting and seeing the positives are a great start. Asking myself the hard or uncomfortable questions will help me to eliminate mediocrity. This can be done by understanding how, why and when I become distracted. What are my triggers and roadblocks? Being more aware and developing strategies to lesson the distractions that pull me away from working on goals will help me to improve self discipline and take consistent action. 

What are my distractions and triggers?

Inconsistent daily routines -  Created havoc with consistency

Unfinished household tasks 

Too much time -  surprisingly leads to procrastination

Insufficient training space at home

Summer months - too hot, too nice out, camping weekends, etc

Focus - There are times when I'm excessively focused or I lose focus

Time management - allocating set times to different components of my training. 

Knees - some days are worse than others. Have a game plan for bad knee days.

Waking up tired - I find it mentally challenging to think about working out. 

The need for restarts has been decreasing this year, so that tells me consistency is increasing. When I do need to restart I've found having a plan helps. Knowing my triggers and distractions or roadblocks will help me to develop a better though out plan of action and help me to exercise self discipline. It is through discipline that I will build solid foundations and improve consistency, thus reducing unplanned restarts and help to accomplish goals.