What I Do Everyday To Keep My Inner Discipline In Check

'' Everyone must choose one of two pains: The pain of discipline or the pain of regret. ''

Hey gang! 😚 ✬
I hope this post finds you happy and well. 🌞 💛
Today I felt like sharing with you some stuff I do on a daily basis to remain disciplined.
I hope you will enjoy!

The first thing is an easy tip to implement to your routine, and we all do it every day, so there’s really no excuse:P It takes place in the shower! In fact, my trick consists of turning your shower to icing cold at some point during your shower time. I’ve been doing this for over a year now so I essentially alternate between the two extremes when I shower (super hot and super cold). It may sound silly at first, but I’m telling you, there’s not a better way to turn on your discipline than starting your day with a freezing shower! Give it a try it’ll be worth it!

The very first thing I do in the morning though is to sit down and meditate for a minimum of 20 minutes. Soon enough, in March, it will be 1 year since I’ve been doing this. I will never stress it enough, meditation is hands down the best habit one can have. It changed my life in ways that I have yet to fully comprehend, and I can’t even imagine going one single day without it. Plus, doing it first thing in the morning is the best way to start your day. Nothing like a discipline exercise to jump start your mind.

Physical exercise.
I’m very lucky that physical activity requires no motivation whatsoever for me because I’m always thrilled to do it. The truth is that the human body is meant to move. We are not meant to have a sedentary lifestyle and sit down all day. Practicing any kind of physical exercise that gets your heart moving a little is so important and good for you. Our ancestors were actually able to run for very long periods of time, it’s quite impressive.

What’s more is that there’s one thing I tell myself everyday about working out. I think of some of my personal inspirations (ultra-runners and people who have completed extreme physical challenges) and I tell myself this: for example: ''If Colin was able to cross Antarctica alone and unaided, and remained there for almost 60 days, what’s my excuse today? '' There’s clearly none. Sick, not sick, shitty weather no shitty weather, it’s always a good day in my books to push your body to its limits.

Also, I write down each of my workouts and what I did that day in the fitness game inside my agenda. I’ve been doing this for a year now. It adds an extra touch of effort, because now not only do you have to exercise, but you have to write down what you did. Excellent way to keep tab of your progress too.

This one may sound funny or perhaps silly, but I dare you to give it a go! I like to challenge myself sometimes, and even though I would say that my willpower is pretty good in the food department, I can drift from my lane occasionally. So what I’ve been doing for a little while is this: let’s say I see a bag of chips in my pantry. My willpower is strong enough so I can luckily resist it, even after I saw it. However, I feel like challenging myself a little and so I grab the bag, take 2 or 3 chips, enjoy every bite out of them, and then boom, close the bag, put it back to where it was, and go back to whatever business I was doing before. Sometimes, my mind doesn’t like it right after, and that’s the whole purpose of doing it. You’re pushing your mind to fight through the urge to grab some more.

At the end of the day, we’re only human, and we each have our own strengths and weaknesses. There’s some areas that make it a bit more difficult for me to remained disciplined at all times. Nonetheless, I don’t leave those weak spots of mine at bay. I have a journal which I dedicate to take track of my progress (or non-progress) in the spheres of my life (or things) that I haven’t yet mastered full control over. Again, just the act of writing it down makes a big difference, because if you just leave it up to your mind, there’s less chances of you actually persisting or even wanting to improve that particular weakness.

Don’t forget: habits are formed by either discipline or by a lack of discipline.
The power is in your hands! 😉