Discipline - when one uses reason to determine the best course of action regardless of one's desires.
Willpower - a combination of determination and self-discipline that enables someone to do something despite the difficulties involved.
Habit - a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up.
I am currently reading a book called The ONE Thing - The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller. The chapters I've been reading the last few days deal with the lies we tell ourselves and the impact that they have on our ability to succeed.
This seems like an especially relevant topic after listening to the recording of the last meeting. Based on what I could tell, a high number of the team is struggling with their numbers - I am one of those people. As part of the IHC we all have very defined goals that can easily be measured. We all have the ability to succeed or not at these goals over the year. That is truth.
As I struggle, I personally tell myself that I need to have more self-discipline. I don't particularly like working on some of my requirements (yes, push ups really aren't a fan favourite). That is irrelevant though. I have agreed to do everything in my power to reach 50,000 in a year and that takes daily progress if I'm going to have any hope in reaching that goal.
Then you look at the definition of willpower - so interlinked with discipline. Willpower is amazing when it is firing on all cylinders, but the reality is that this is not how life works. Willpower ebbs and flows - sometimes it is there and sometimes it can't be found anywhere in this universe.
So we sit down and look at our goals. We know we need to correct the path we are on. We determine how we are going to go after that. We use discipline to chase these goals until that passion that fired this change dwindles (willpower). Then we are back where we started. Round and round we go.
This book addresses this vicious cycle. Yes, to make a change we will need discipline and we will be greatly aided by willpower but not to the level that we believe we do. The author emphasizes that we need to use our willpower and self-discipline with the focus of building good habits. Success is not built by doing everything right all of the time - this is really an unobtainable situation. Success is built by doing the right thing. If we work to build these habits that are hard to give up, then reaching our goals is not going to be the same issue. Now the caveat he gives is that these habits need to be built one at a time. We can't go from zero to sixty and rebuild habits in every part of our lives all at once. We not posses the discipline that would take and our willpower can't sustain it long term.
I personally have not built many habits over the past couple years. I do log my numbers most nights, that is until I forget for a week and then need to reboot. That really is the story on many fronts. I find that Monday, I start firing on all fronts and then by Friday - nothing. Then I tally up the week's numbers and Monday I nail it again. Round and round. Not ever fully off but not ever fully on long enough to build a true habit. My numbers are growing each week but not at a pace that will meet my goals.
It is time for me to really look at my goals and start to build some real consistent habits!
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