Many people, including myself, are struggling with discipline during pandemic life because of applying old habits to a new situation. Whenever there’s tremendous change — followed by a loss of focus and motivation — we have to go back and revisit the habits that allow us to be productive.
1 area I’ve lost my mojo: Waking up in the morning.
My wakeup hour has changed by about an hour and a half; so, everything has shifted by about an hour and a half. Why?
- 4 additional people in our home (children and their significant others)
- Working from home and not going into the office
- Exercising from home
These are just a few of the reasons my schedule is all out of whack! Hence, habits that brought me discipline in the past are now no longer of use to me.
When this happens, we blame ourselves. Ironically, I really tried to stick to as many of my habits as possible and tried to do them at the exact same time. And the more I did that, the more I fought against it; the more I felt bad about myself.
“Why can’t I get up at the same time? What is going on? Why can’t I accomplish all of the things I did before? Why isn’t it as easy as it once was?”
So, how did I get my discipline back and how can you?
Step 1: Focus on the identity you’d like to have.
Let’s say you want to start exercising and stop spending your day eating bad food and being sedentary. Rather than focusing on the fact you’ve got to schedule some time to exercise, start thinking about the identity you’d like to become. Would you like to think of yourself as someone who’s:
- athletic?
- fit?
- healthy?
Because when you start to act in alignment with that desired identity, it becomes so much easier for you to think in that way.
You’ll use less willpower as it becomes part of the way that you think!
Step 2: Know your why.
There’s a reason you want to discipline yourself to do the thing you want to do, right? It’s a lot more than just, “because it’s the right thing to do!”
You’ve got to have something that motivates you — whether it’s internal or external.
- Love for your family
- Legacy you want to leave
- Desire for marriage
- Want to be able to retire
- Dream house on the beach
Whatever it is, you’ve got to know what your why is because there will be days where you’re going to have to do it at all costs. Failure / quitting / giving up can’t be options.
Step 3: Know what the objective is.
Is the goal to:
- Get a job?
- Save money?
- Start your own business?
- Exercise daily?
Once you set your sights on what you’d like to accomplish for the next 90 days, for example, then break that down and ask yourself, “If I’m going to do that, what needs to happen every single day?”
For an additional 5 steps to conquering your discipline, check out The Chalene Show podcast below:
And don’t forget to subscribe to TCS for weekly shows aimed at getting you to live your best life!
