Hello!
On a scale of 1 – 10 how hard is your self-discipline muscle, if 10 is bone hard? Don’t complicate your answer with “if” and “when” and “sometimes”…just let your first answer at the gut level stand.
- When you say you will get something done, does it get done even when you really don’t want to do it anymore?
- Do you rise from slumber (or any type of enjoyable activity) to get going with your scheduled activities even when it is MOST difficult?
- Can you say ‘no’ to fun and friends when prior work commitments are calling?
- Do you finish what you start?
- Do you stick to the routines you have established to help you succeed?
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit. ~ Aristotle.
What are you repeatedly doing? Whatever it is you are doing on a daily basis, those are the habits you are creating.
Are they habits of excellence and extreme achievement? Like the proverbial ‘apple a day keeps the doctor away’ are you doing something daily that is really good for you?
If you are inconsistent, THAT is the habit you are creating or reinforcing: Inconsistency.
What ever it is you do on a regular, daily basis, there you will find your habits and your level of self-discipline.
So for today… (let us repeat our routine, designed for extreme achievement)
1) Spend at least 30 minutes on specific action steps connected to your goal. If you can invest more time, do so. You are working on the third benchmark – due to be completed by Wednesday June 8th
2) Do the daily forgiveness ritual to remain accountable. Doing this exercise daily will allow you to start each day with a clean slate and with all the energy, focus and lightness you need to achieve your goals at the highest level possible.
3) Relaxation/imagination exercise – [additional information is here about why this is important]
A) Spend 15 minutes today in a relaxed – super relaxed and comfortable chair or position. Get your mind to be as empty as possible…using deep breathing as your tool.
► Deep diaphragmatic breathing is what you want. Filling your diaphragm as you to breathe in more oxygen will expand your stomach area; so with hand on tummy you should be able to tell instantly whether your breathing is deep enough. If your stomach expands (pushes out against your hand) you’re good, if your chest expands and/or your shoulder rises, you’re breathing shallow and will not gain the relaxing benefits of deep breathing
► Visualize your muscle groups from bottom to top, tightening and releasing a few times and then relaxing into a calm stillness.
B) In this relaxed position, after a few minutes of controlled deep breathing, sit peacefully for as long as you can up to about 15 minutes.
C) Then immediately following this relaxations session, venture into some imagination playtime.
► Allow your imagination to visualize your optimistic state of mind working for you as you see yourself producing more of what you intend to produce more of each day on this journey…writing, helping, sales, studying, researching, coaching, speaking, building, bonding…whatever your goal is, imagine your optimistic self in a state of blissful productivity. Keep this ‘movie’ in your mind going, filling in all the details you can inject and keeping it inspired, light and entertaining. See yourself taking the actual steps needed to achieve the specific daily goal you have for today. See yourself taking these steps again and again. Pause the movie a few times and insert a few deep breaths to be sure you remain relaxed.
► DAILY— add some scenes to your personal movie based on the specific message or suggested activity of the day.
4) Using your journal, answer the questions above after you have recorded your self-assessment on how self-disciplined you are…on a scale of 1 – 10. Write the number at the top of a page, answer the questions and THEN make a list of the things you will do to improve your assessment if it is anything less than a 10.
It isn’t complicated and for sure, you have the answers. We often fool ourselves into thinking we need answers from ‘experts’ or information from some outside source. You know exactly what you need to do to be more self-disciplined. HINT: Check out what you are not doing that caused the rating to be lower than your best.
Please Note: If you are perfectly happy with where you are with self-discipline and you see no real room for improvement, then I suggest you apply this exercise to an area where improvement is needed. Some other vital habits are: patience, kindness, listening, organization, forgiveness, planning and preparing, accountability, productivity, creativity, etc, etc…there are many to choose from where improvement would be possible.
Provide a self-assessment and a plan for improvement.
Wishing you an abundance of joy that comes from productivity and sweet self-discipline!
Love & Light,
Julette Millien
♥~
P.S. This message is a part of the 21 Days of Action & Accountability – a free event. Day 1 was Thursday May 19th and previous preparation exercises can be found here.
Creating Habits that Help the World…