Discipline, Consistency & Greater Self Control – A 28-Day Challenge

This is not an April fool’s joke- it is time I challenge myself again. This is not reason to increase the complexity of my existence it is a chance to simplify it by being in charge and seeking change and improvement.

For those of you who follow me at The Hidden Why you will be familiar with some of my recent thoughts with particular reference to being the captain of my ship, the master of my soul. Not negotiating with my mind. Talking to myself and directing my life. Being my own greatest leader not a mere cog in the wheel of my consciousness.

I have also found interest in science, particularly discovered through the works of Sam Harris, neuroscientist and philosophical writer, that proves there is no free will. With all this thought in mind I have a great desire right now to sharpen things up and prove a few things to the Self and seek to discover what is true and what is truth.

There have been a number of ‘aha’ moments that have occurred over the last few weeks that has lead me to this 28-day challenge which I will share with you and reflect on in this post. In so doing I hope to inspire and encourage you to go about setting your own challenges.

This should be a continual practice in life. And yes, I do have desire to keep it up but feel it’s necessary to start with something achievable – 28 days should be just fine.

Free will.

Is there such thing as free will? Apparently not, however before you abandon all plans, jump ship and fall into the ocean of complacency lets discuss a few things first. While we may not be in control of the firing neurons within our head we still possess a consciousness. Let me explain with a metaphor.

If there is no free will we would all be as good as a paper bag floating in the air being moved around by the earthly breezes. Whether we go up, down, land, or hover in stagnation is without a choice.

My thought is that because of our conscious mind we have some ability to wiggle our toes and move our nose. We can influence our actions by our thoughts even though thoughts may indeed too be out of our control. As I understand it the human mind goes about creating new neural paths that come through the wordily experiences we have.

I far as I can tell is that thought is created from stimulus. Without consciousness we would be without thought and without stimulus we would be without thought. Even though these neurons may fire without any conscious control I am certain we must be able to influence them by the stimulus in life we expose ourselves, too.

Stimulus can be past experience to something we watch on the news or observe right in the moment that trigger a spark in thought. Now, I am sure science goes deeper than my assumptions here. I would rather be positive in assuming that I have some ability to influence the course of my life than being without hope.

Free will is an important element of this challenge to prove that despite the lack of discipline in some areas of my life that lack and despite the beliefs I have of who I am through my own personal story and narration – how much power do I have to change or influence these things.

What could you challenge yourself with that may challenge a belief or personal story?

Discipline and self-control.

I was reading Napoleon Hill’s book again recently, Thing And Grow Rich, awesome stuff! And in one chapter he highlights 30 something points that make successful leaders. One of those points were that those that do not possess self-control will be their own defeat. I pondered deeply on this thought for days.

Why can I possess such great discipline and self-control in many aspects of my life yet be without control in others. Perhaps it relates again to the lacking of will – hence why I wish to challenge myself. I believe that certain areas where I lack discipline will be my defeat and so wish to attempt to change them.

In particular around health and more specifically around what I digest. My cousin who I admire as a very healthy individual said to me in a chat that he made a decision to only digest what will nourish both his body in mind.

That struck a chord with me and relates to something I heard Tony Robbins say recently and that was, “I do no negotiate with my mind.” Indicating that the ability to do so is built through consistent and persistent practice.

My thoughts are that I must be able to do the same so why not set myself some rules and disciplines that I must adhere to – no negotiating on these for 28 days.

Consistency.

I know from experience that setting challenges, like setting goals, while they can be tricky to achieve and challenging they do assist to make ongoing impact and change in life. I did this late last year with my 3-month Challenge 2 Transformation. Check out the Facebook page here.

I was far from perfect in this challenge but many of the disciplines that I needed to create and do what I set out to achieve remained well beyond. So this time I hope to have a few new habits/practices stick.

I also want more consistency. I believe and know from experience that when I am consistent in certain areas of life I am much more effective. I achieve more greatly what I desire. I am less like a rollercoaster with ups and downs of pleasure and suffering and more like a stable, composed being – better able to master whatever the moment shall bring.

Not only do I desire to have disciplines but I desire to be consistent. It is not good enough to be disciplined only on certain days and let the ball off just because you don’t feel like it on the next day. This does not mean I will not rest and relax and detach from the discipline chain, I will, but when I dictate it so.

Effectiveness and self- leadership.

With greater discipline and consistency, I am almost 100 percent certain that I will be more effective. Not only will I be able to achieve more with my time but I will be able to have more time for me.

A lack of effectiveness caused by a lacking of self-control and discipline is a true waste of time. In such we can spend more time trying to get things done with less time for doing those things that matter, like meditating and spending quality time working on those relationships in our life that do matter.

I am to be the captain of my ship and master of my soul I have to step up and freaking lead myself. Leadership takes discipline. Leadership requires consistency. Those that possess these traits will be followed. How will I convince my Self to follow my desires if I am unwilling to show great leadership?

In the next 28 days I am going to be the best freaking leader I can be for myself. I am going to be in control. And with that I am going to prove to myself that I can grow my beliefs, I can achieve what is possible, I can influence my reality – my life.

Less suffering and more happiness.

Everything I do is with the purpose of more happiness and less suffering, everything! That is my aim and if I want to lead others to do the same I feel I must set the example.

The suffering in my life in the last few weeks is all self-caused. Everything! There has not been one thing that has caused me pain or suffering that came to me from and external source, not one!

For that reason, I want to create some disciplines and self-control in life to avoid future occurrences where I can. Health is the fundamental Life Principle that will provide a platform for all else that matters. It is the critical component to living life with greater freedom, fulfilment and happiness.

Health is my focus for the next 28 days and I will get there with discipline, consistency and self-control. I will lead me to the finish line. I will only digest what nourishes the body and mind.

If you’d like to find out more about this challenge head to the Challenge2Transformation Facebook page and join the group. More in 28-days.

What’s will you challenge yourself with? Want to have some support and accountability? Set up a chat with me via this link.