Self-discipline and Mindfulness
Self-discipline
What do you feel when I say self-discipline? A form of resistance, right? You will feel like there is some difficulty when you try to gain self-discipline. As mind always like to wonder, like and inquisitive child. It is hard to keep it in a place where it doesn't want to be in. But there are other things.
Sometimes self-discipline feels like we should make an effort. Imagine you are an athlete. You want to become self-disciplined in your routine. You feel like you need to wake up before everyone else and run around. You feel like you need to control what you are eating and drinking. You feel you need to run the same route every day. You need to improve your technique and build your muscles so you can try winning the next race. But what if I told you there are some other aspects of self-discipline that we often neglect and overlook?
One such aspect is that self-discipline starts with mindfulness.
To be honest, everything starts with mindfulness. For a brief moment, we are aware of our feelings. Consider when you were angry the last time. How did you remember the incident if you were not aware? Before you lost your self-control and made a huge, shameful mess, there was awareness. But it was too brief and not enough to stop your reaction. But what if you were aware that discipline is all about reaction, not the feeling?
mindfulness comes before self-discipline
Let's consider the case of the athlete. Imagine he woke up early in the morning, as he planned. He walked for 15 minutes and ran for half an hour. The first day was fine. After a week, he would lose his self-discipline and fall off his routine. Unless he was aware of what was happening, he would revert back to his old self. He can be mindful and say he does not like watching Netflix until late at night. That doesn't work. He needs to be aware that there are barriers to his routine. It may be laziness, perhaps tiredness, or sometimes it may be family problems. If mindfulness is there, he can recognize each and every specific problem that might lead to failure and change the variables of his life so there are fewer problems likely to arise, and choose the response in advance using an if-then routine. It is all about making a comprehensive plan, or a system, considering all the failures.
How can someone improve mindfulness?
As you can see, mindfulness is very advantageous, or we can call it the first domino that falls when something falls apart. When mindfulness falls, there would be no recovery until it is too late and the end of the day. But each and every time, there are brief moments where you can take a pause and bring back mindful awareness. Mindfulness meditation practice is nothing but an exercise that we do to bring awareness to the present. It is difficult in real life when you are faced with real problems, when you are chasing illusions of life thinking it is reality. It is easier to practice mindfulness when you are free, alone, and calm. So, close your eyes and set aside time every day to feel what it is like to be you. This will help to increase the gap between your feelings and actions even when you are "not meditating."
Comments