Harnessing Discipline

Welcome.

Make yourself comfortable by sitting still or laying down.

Close your eyes.

Relax.

And allow the muscles in your face and in your neck and in your shoulders to drop.

Begin by listening to your breathing.

Breathe deeply and very slowly.

Quiet your mind of any questions,

Any responsibilities,

Thoughts and desires by just breathing deeply,

Staying relaxed and still.

Take a moment to appreciate yourself by deciding to listen to this meditation.

Take a deep breath in and out.

Let's begin.

Imagine a person you know or could think of as a champion.

A champion in any category you choose,

But nonetheless a champion.

It could be someone famous,

A current or former mentor,

Or just the mental image or a faceless form of someone you can conjure now.

Take a deep breath in and breathe out slowly.

Project your imagination onto the following questions.

How does this champion breathe?

How does he or she walk and sit and stand?

How does this champion form speak?

How does it think?

How do you think it feels?

How does this champion dress?

How physically and emotionally healthy is it?

How does this champion care for themselves and for others?

How much energy does this person have?

In what way does this person handle physical and emotional pain?

How does this champion make decisions?

How does this champion take action?

How does this champion change their lives?

How does this champion change their lives?

How does this champion think it would be like to be this person?

What would it take to transition into becoming this person?

What would it take to remain this person?

The answer,

As you know,

Is with discipline.

Take a deep breath in and out.

Imagine you are now this unique champion you've just imagined.

See through the eyes of this person and look into a mirror.

In your mind,

How do you look?

How do you feel?

Remember that you are the champion that funnels the energy of your discipline into whatever you deem absolutely critical.

Imagine it is your lawful right to remain a champion.

Take a very slow,

Deep breath in.

Exhale slowly and completely.

Think of discipline as a shortcut to becoming worthy of taking immersed action towards a specific and long-term reward,

Providing freedom of choice and the lifestyle you must have.

Take a deep breath in and out.

What precisely is the essence of discipline?

To me,

Discipline is a powerful pattern of habits that shape the quality of results we produce over time.

What practical tasks can this perception of discipline do for us?

Study for exams.

Plan for your retirement.

Build and maintain a successful business.

Maybe renovate your home while managing your personal relationships.

Master a new skill.

Make a decision without overthinking.

Rehabilitate a physical or emotional injury.

Anything you want and need.

In short,

Your discipline is the inexhaustible fuel that propels your motivation.

Take a deep breath in and out.

Inhale and exhale.

Here are some practices and a mindset to use to build and maintain your internal mountain of discipline to serve you.

Realize your thoughts and language control the quality of your discipline each moment that you are alive.

So controlling your thoughts and language will help you develop your discipline.

Start by deciding to remain hungry for achievement by changing your thoughts and your language from should to must.

Simply substitute the word should to the word must in both your daily thoughts and in your daily speech.

Next,

Imagine your discipline as a faithful pet.

This pet will never hurt you.

It is fiercely loyal to you.

It always wants to be near you.

It will never stop wanting to please you and it will never quit.

So long as you genuinely spend time building your relationship with it.

Take a deep breath in and out.

See this pet in your mind.

Like an angel on your shoulder,

Let's imbue this image of your mental pet with emotion and associate it with discipline.

What is its name?

What kind of animal is it?

How big or small is it?

What colors is it?

What does it sound like?

What does it smell like?

Is it a mythical creature?

Decide and describe what kind of relationship you want to have with your mental pet.

Let your imagination manifest itself in any way you choose to create this loyal and strong companion that represents the genesis of your discipline.

Realize that thinking of your mental pet feeds your mental pet and your pet is always hungry for your thoughts.

Take a deep breath in and out.

Remember,

The idea behind your mental pet is intended to help you connect with your discipline emotionally.

And the function of your mental pet is to remind you of three things.

First,

That time is always running out.

Second,

That you must take consistent action towards your outcomes.

And third,

To remind you that you are a champion.

Take a deep breath in and out.

You may want to pause this meditation to answer the following questions.

Honestly ask yourself,

What specific gains in my life could manifest if I take massive and consistent action?

What specific gains in my life could manifest if I take massive and consistent action?

And ask yourself,

What specific things in my life could I miss out on if I don't take massive and consistent action?

What specific things in my life could I miss out on if I don't take massive and consistent action?

Take a deep breath in and out.

Here are some short and simple concepts I'd like to share.

Be curious to keep testing your capabilities.

Allow the success of others to inspire you.

In addition to and beyond setting goals,

Realize that our minds are hardwired to release feelings of pleasure when we see progress.

And that progress inspires the flow of discipline.

And so we need to measure our progress so we can see it more often in order to help encourage the flow of discipline.

Remember,

No one is better equipped and qualified to build and maintain your discipline than you are.

Harnessing discipline comes from creating and sustaining an intense need to accomplish outcomes backed with unchanging daily if not weekly rituals that inch you forward toward achieving your outcomes as years go by.

Take a deep breath in and out.

And if you are a person who benefits more from processes than from imagery,

Here is a process for igniting and maintaining discipline that I recommend.

Number one,

Create a clear and specific favorable outcome of what you want and briefly think of it daily whenever you are tired,

Relaxed,

Focused,

Or restless and then let it go.

Number two,

Accept and adapt to change by continuously determining and completing the little things you have to do to achieve your outcome.

Number three,

Tell your closest friends they must hold you accountable should you waver from your campaign and briefly update them bi-weekly.

Number four,

Measure your progress by creating monthly calendar events as milestones to quantify your progress and celebrate your milestone achievements with your closest friends immediately.

Number five,

Expect your outcome to take months if not years to realize and enjoy the process.

And number six,

Remember that no one has the right to tell you what you cannot accomplish.

Take a deep breath in and out.

Also,

Before taking any action from this meditation,

I believe it important to prepare to overcome the social challenges that you may face when putting this meditation into practice.

For instance,

If you feel held back by your loved ones,

Remember you are a champion and feed your mental pet with the thought of achieving your outcomes.

If you feel held back by your friends,

Remember you are a champion and feed your mental pet.

If you feel held back by your peers or your boss at work,

Remember you are a champion and feed your mental pet.

If you unknowingly hold yourself back by confusing unnecessary movement for achievement,

Remember you are a champion and feed your mental pet.

Finally,

Realize your power of self-influence comes from unending discipline.

Let your champion persona and your mental pet serve you to develop your discipline over time.

Take a deep breath in and out.

Please take a moment to appreciate and thank yourself for the discipline you've shown throughout this meditation.

Take all the time you need to just breathe and remember you can return to this meditation whenever you please.

Remember that the more you practice this meditation,

The faster and easier it will work for you.

Thank you for taking the time to begin learning how to master harnessing discipline.

When you're ready,

Slowly open your eyes and let me leave you with these words.

It's a great day to be alive.