Scott H Young

“The last three or four reps is what makes the muscle grow. This area of pain divides the champion from someone else who is not a champion. That’s what most people lack, having the guts to go on and just say they’ll go through the pain no matter what happens.” - Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold probably enjoyed going to the gym. But just an interest isn’t enough to become the seven-time Mr. Olympia champion. Especially if you aren’t feeling particularly motivated to push beyond the last few painful reps. Arnold had an ironclad personal discipline, and having a strong discipline will make the difference if your motivation drops and you feel like quitting.

Building discipline is a lot like building strength. The times when your commitment wavers and you feel like backing down test the limits of your discipline. Every time you brush that limit and keep going, you slowly build your personal discipline.

Discipline is Your Failsafe

A failsafe is a device that won’t create damage if it stops working. Discipline is your failsafe to ensure that an unexpected drop in motivation won’t shatter any progress you’ve made. Motivation has definite power, but it can waver during challenges and failures.

Motivation is rarely a constant. I’m sure you’ve had days where you are driven to work on a project or goal for hours at a time. I’m also sure you’ve been drained and making any effort was difficult. What determines your motivation is a matter of your emotions, energy levels and focus at the time.

The problem occurs when your motivation drops at a key moment. As Arnold mentioned, those last few reps make up most of your increase in strength. It doesn’t matter how motivated you were for the entire buildup if you can’t push through the resistance.

A great example of where an ironclad discipline can be helpful is changing habits. I’ve noticed that the first week I’m usually highly motivated. After a week or two, the motivation drops as the conditioning takes over. Unfortunately, if a challenge comes up that might threaten that conditioning (birthday cake when you’re on a diet) your motivation might be gone by that point. Discipline helps when motivation fails.

Building an Ironclad Discipline

If you feel your discipline is ready to topple at the slightest breeze, how do you go about building discipline?

The best way is simply to train it. Like a muscle, simply condition yourself by facing more difficult challenges and persevering. As you continue working through it, your discipline will rise and you can move through harder problems. Steve Pavlina mentions this method in his series on self discipline.

There are a few other methods I’ve found useful when building an ironclad discipline. Here are some you might want to try:

1) Creating a Mantra

In one of my favorite books, Dune, the main character Paul Atreides speaks a mantra known as the litany against fear:

I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.

Paul repeats this mantra whenever he encounters a particularly painful or frightening situation. Although this is a fictional example, it speaks to the importance of words in controlling thoughts. By creating your own discipline mantra, you can push yourself forward despite fear, pain or laziness.

2) Use Motivation On-Demand

Discipline could also be thought of as motivation on-demand. Forced motivation to get yourself to do something rather than the natural motivation that comes from inspiring goals and passionate work. Using tricks for motivation on-demand you can boost your discipline temporarily.

Some good methods to get motivation on-demand include:

• Carry a list of your goals. They can inspire you in pessimistic times.
• Write out your commitments.
• Commit publicly or to a friend.
• Get leverage on yourself.
• Set a stop-point for when you can quit. For example, if you feel like giving up writing, commit to go for another twenty minutes before taking a break. Often you will rebuild motivation and breeze through the twenty minute mark.

3) Measure Your Discipline Levels

Do you think Arnold would have gotten to be the seven-time Mr. Olympia if he didn’t know how much weight he could lift? Probably not. If you don’t know where your discipline levels are, you can’t do much to build on them.

When you give up and your discipline fails you, this isn’t a time to beat yourself up. Instead, go down and mark out how much you managed to do when you failed. Consider this one sample position of your discipline. For example, if you fail to stick to your diet after three weeks, set a goal to last for two and a half. If you can only work six hours straight, try moving it up to seven.

Knowing your limits is the key to pushing past them.

Are you driven to get your to-do list done? Or do you get feelings of dread just from looking at it? Motivation is critical for getting things done. But if you don’t write to-do lists properly, even exciting projects will only inspire procrastination.

Here are some suggestions for writing a to-do list that will make you want to get moving and kick ass, instead of just take another coffee break:

1) Follow the Rule of Seven

Don’t write a to-do list that has more than seven items. If it feels like you have too many tasks to accomplish, it will feel less inspiring to get anything done. Instead, write smaller lists and organize groups so you only have to check lists with less than seven items. Short lists motivate.

Writing smaller lists also helps with prioritizing. When you only have five or six items to glance over, you can quickly assess what needs to be done first and which is most important. When facing lists of over a dozen items, you lose the ability to sort priorities.

If your list is too long, try grouping different tasks into categories. Then make smaller sub-lists with those points. This not only adds clarity, but it helps you mentally divide up how the work will be accomplished.

2) Use the Power of a Time Budget

Few organizations would spend money without a budget. Budgets help control the flow of money so it isn’t wasted. But what about a budget on your time? Does your to-do list budget time?

Deadlines function as a budget on your time. They point out the maximum amount of time that can be spent to accomplish a task. Placing deadlines on entire lists or particular items within a to-do list can kick you into gear.

I always maintain a daily goals list, as well as longer goals for my projects. By keeping a daily goals list, you can budget out which portions of your to-do tasks need to be done today. This is the best method I know of to stay focused on those important, non-urgent tasks that often get missed.

3) Connect Tasks to Your Vision

Why are you doing the task in the first place? Although it might be obvious what the end purpose of a task is, everyone needs reminders. Having a reminder of the goal each task represents can give them the same level of motivation.

I’m working on a new book for this site, which involves a lot of writing. Writing down a task to “Write 2000 words” on my daily goals isn’t nearly as inspiring until I connect it with the final goal of having a finished book, helping people with the information it provides and moving one step closer to earning an income from this site full-time.

If your to-do list consistently fails to inspire you, write out how each task will aid your goal. It can be easy to lose sight of the big picture.

4) Reward Yourself

What is more motivating? Finishing a hard day of work with some well-timed rest and relaxation–OR–knowing you’ll have another night of poor sleep as you drill through your project.

When possible, plan your to-do list so you accomplish all major tasks early. Then when you are done you can have the rest of the day or week off to relax. If you reward work achieved with more work, you’ll set yourself up to procrastinate. Don’t spread work out; get it done early so you can party (or sleep) afterwards.

5) Don’t Forget About It

If your to-do list doesn’t demand attention, it will be forgotten. Forgotten to-do lists can’t motivate. If you want a motivating to-do list, make it one you can check often and rests firmly in your mind until you complete it.

Here are some tips for creating an unforgettable to-do list:

• Write it on a piece of paper you always keep attached to your desk.
• List all major tasks as only 1-3 words.
• Write each of your Most Important Tasks on a Post It and attach them to your computer screen.
• Keep it in your pocket.
• Follow the Rule of Seven.

6) Motivate From Within

Although it’s been said many times before, it deserves repeating: if your work doesn’t inspire you, no amount of tricks will drive you to finish your to-do list. It can be easy to lose sight of your big goals and even the best jobs need a boost from time to time. But tricks can’t make up for actually liking your job.

If your to-do list creates chronic pain, add one more item before crossing the rest off the list: find a new career.