welcome to this audiobook summary of self-discipline mindset by Curtis Leon self-discipline is a concept that often scares and frustrates many people they misunderstand it thinking it prevents them from doing enjoyable things and forces them to do boring tasks in reality we know that self-discipline is essential because it pushes us towards our goals deep down we recognize its benefits we know it can help us but we try to deny its importance because implementing it is challenging self-discipline is difficult because we are dealing with our internal enemy which is ourselves our mind resists leaving its comfort zone and our body clings to Old Habits this resistance prevents us from changing and becoming better change is hard but with this summary will help you by the end of this summary you will have the confidence and discipline to pursue whatever you want in life this summary serves as a powerful guide to self-discipline focusing on developing your discipline and shifting your attention away from things that try to hold you back so let's begin this interesting journey and discover how to transform your mindset overcome obstacles and achieve your dreams stay with us us till the end and you'll find practical strategies and insights that will change your life for the better find out your why Ace is an orphan teenager who dreams of becoming a professional basketball player he practices tirelessly day and night he has given up all bad habits like alcohol and smoking focusing solely on his training he is determined to make something of himself and shed the image of being a pitiful orphan abandoned by his parents on this journey Ace faced numerous rejections and challenges but he never gave up he worked relentlessly until he turned his dream into reality self-discipline is the greatest asset of an athlete however if a person doesn't know why they are doing something self-discipline loses its meaning Ace didn't just become a professional basketball player through hard work alone it was also due to his driving force his purpose his why every Journey Begins With why you need to know exactly why you want to develop self-discipline without this understanding staying committed to your goals will be hard knowing your purpose or why helps you stay determined it helps you get up in the morning and face any challenges that come your way this chapter outlines some effective ways to discover your why the first step is to visualize yourself as the person you want to become to discover your why you need to know what you want if you clearly understand what you want it will be the best visualizing the person you want to become will shift your focus toward becoming better for example suppose you want to lose weight to clarify what you want you need to determine how much weight you want to lose and in what time frame imagine doing the things you dream of and move forward from there to visualize think of a specific time and place and make it a habit to achieve better results while visualizing you should sit in a comfortable position try to visualize your goals as real as possible even even if they haven't happened yet and make them your reality knowing what you want can help you discover why you want it after that you need to understand the reason behind it for example Ace wanted to become a professional basketball player his why was to prove his worth and value to people and his reason was that he was just an orphan trying to find his place in the world your why is essential but no knowing the reason behind it is also necessary many people know there why but it is not enough to push them towards discipline and find Opportunities many still cling to Old Habits because they haven't built a solid foundation it's essential to know why you want your why this is the reason that helps you change to understand this you can make two lists in the first list write down all your goals and the reasons for being disciplined and confident you can also list all the positive effects and benefits of being disciplined in the second list write down the negative effects of not being self-disciplined list all the possible things that can happen if you don't take action analyzing these lists will help you understand the real reason behind what you want knowing your why is crucial because it will give you a clear understanding of your goals and plans knowing your why will make it easier to stay dedicated with full commitment and help you get rid of your excuses stop your excuses one of your worst habits is procrastination the habit of putting things off until tomorrow this habit prevents you from becoming a better person and entangles you in activities that do not help you grow by eliminating the excuses you make you can make your life easier here are some examples of excuses you need to stop making stop waiting for the right time some people believe that you should only do things when you feel like it these are usually the people who decide based on emotions but that's not how self-discipline works you need to stop waiting for the right time and taking action based on your emotions emotions are all always changing and highly unpredictable relying on them especially to do nothing will only lead to worse situations self-discipline goes beyond the limitations we impose on ourselves it doesn't believe in perfect timing it focuses on what needs to be done if you find yourself waiting for the right time remind yourself of your why shifting your mindset from excuses to motiv ation will help you take action you need to get rid of your excuses before they defeat you for example you wake up at 6:00 a. m. to exercise but you don't do it because you think it's too early the next day you wake up at 7:00 a.
m. and still don't exercise because you think it's too late if you keep making excuses for yourself you won't achieve anything so it's best to do what needs to be done and stop making excuses another effective way to stop making excuses is to develop your decision-making skills as stated by Charles doig the author of the popular book The Power of Habit your brain's part responsible for habits is the basil ganglia this region is also responsible for storing information like memory emotions and patterns which collectively form our habits what does this mean in simple terms the basil ganglia make habits automatic every time you establish a habit you don't think about it again you just do it therefore if you want to eliminate a habit from your routine you need to practice making decisions you need to prevent old habits from becoming automatic and start building new patterns initially removing old habits may feel strange because your body has followed this pattern for weeks months or even years this makes it difficult for your brain to adjust and quickly accept changes it will resist changes and pull you back to Old Habits this can be the most challenging fight and you need to ensure that you win here's an example whenever you look in the mirror you see that you have gained weight so you decide to start exercising and jogging on the first day you feel excited but by the second day you start losing motivation and fall back into your old habit of laziness this way you give up on the second day and stop working out the point is that exercising won't feel good initially because you are going against your daily routine however if you don't let laziness overpower you it will become easier with each passing day another method is using a mantra a mantra is a positive chant you can say to yourself daily your Mantra should include positive words about you and what you want to achieve what you say to yourself profoundly impacts your brain it affects your thinking and guides you in the right direction for example if you want to exercise daily one reason you don't is that you tell yourself negative things you say that are lazy hate working out or that exercise won't help you creating a mantra about self-discipline is the best solution to combat negativity if you want to achieve a goal in life you should chant a mantra every day you can tell yourself that you enjoy working out or list the benefits of exercise you must believe that whatever you tell yourself is the absolute truth by doing this you will convince your body to exercise besides chanting you can write your Mantra and place it on your side table or in front of your mirror make sure to look at it daily and keep reminding Yourself by following these steps you can stop making excuses and develop the self-discipline needed to achieve your goals create an action plan now that you know your why and have eliminated your excuses it's time to create a practical action plan this plan will outline the steps you need to take to achieve your goals you can use free platforms like Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Word if you prefer traditional methods you can use pen and paper to create your action plan make sure to include columns like time action potential problems strategies to solve problems and progress status how detailed you make your action plan depends on you however remember that your goals should be smart goals specific measurable achievable realistic And Timely smart goals make tasks manageable so you don't avoid them but instead strive to complete them as soon as possible self-discipline is all about consistency and it will be be difficult to stay consistent if you don't know what actions to take planning helps discipline your mind and starting at a specific time daily will help you establish a routine there will be many challenges on your journey to self-discipline to overcome these challenges you need to plan what to do if something unexpected happens you can try to predict possible problems or expect them and develop strategies to solve them for example if you need to wake up at 5:00 a. m.
