Training the Mind to Manage Your Life with Discipline

In order to prepare your mind for the journey of acquiring discipline, it is important to understand the destination. The chances are excellent that by now you have already identified areas for improvement, so start with those. Work to clearly articulate what the desired end result is. Only when you have a clear picture of the desired result-the goal-can you begin to map out a plan to get there.

For instance, if you find you're always late for your commitments, then the goal is to improve your time management capabilities. The goal statement, then, could look something like this: To consistently arrive at appointments five minutes early.

The point here is for you to see the progression of thinking. You must go, in your mind, from where you are today (generally late) to where you want to be (consistently early). Not only that, but you must find the simplest, most realistic, no-nonsense way of accomplishing that task. Great, so what does all of that mean? Really, it's fairly simple.

Recognition. Obviously, you must first recognize the problem or identify the desirable trait that you wish to develop. Simply by looking at your current life and routine, you should be able to quickly identify areas you would like to improve. Indeed, most of us have a lot of these, so you shouldn't be discouraged if you do too! Pinpoint exactly what you intend to improve and make a list of those traits in writing.

HINT
By putting your thoughts in writing, you are creating a material account of your thinking and action. This will help you to accurately sort and process your thoughts and prevent anything from slipping through the cracks. In this stage of your journey, you want to be particularly thorough to avoid "re-work" later on.

Realization. The next step in the progression is for you to realize what needs to be done to address the problem, behavior, or situation. This is essentially the stage where you plan the solution. Make sure you take time to think carefully about what you can change, and assess yourself to determine whether you are up to the challenge. Typically, you will find that only one or two things need to be done or approached differently in order to deal with the problem effectively.

Let's continue with our previous example of a person who struggles with punctuality. Although the solution will be different for everyone depending on their character, personality type, and mentality, one or two minor changes to the regular routine are sufficient for one to be more consistently on time: Self-acknowledgement of the fact that one generally underestimates the amount of time each task will take, for instance, will be a giant leap towards correcting tardiness. This is news, because if one can train the mind to constantly remind himself to be on time or early-he would no longer ever have to think about when it's time to get ready. It would happen automatically. That, of course, is the very end desired result.

Reaction. This is the plan implementation step. Whatever you identified in step 2 as the concrete things you could change should now be put into practice. Congratulations! You should be commended! You have now taken the first active step into the unknown and have officially "done" something about it!

The wheels are now in motion and you are on your way to success. You are now acting upon your decision by being responsible and taking control. This step is particularly difficult for some, because it requires stepping up to the challenge. If you can do it, however, it is the official halfway point of accomplishing your goal.

Practically speaking, this is also the place where formal training of the mind really begins. Up to this point, planning and mind-mapping have all been preparation steps, but once you begin acting, that is where the real changes are going to be made.

How does one react?
The obvious question here is simple: "How do I do it?" The process is not complicated, and it need not require any special knowledge or training. Really, all that it will take is a set of strategically placed actions in your schedule to trigger the desired outcome and focus.

At this point, it becomes necessary to make yourself aware of all the things you could and should be doing to improve your situation. Doing this is not difficult. In fact, it is a great opportunity to apply a little bit of discipline and get a feel for what it really means to push yourself mentally every day. This is done effectively through the use of simple, straightforward, quick reminders.

At first, the task of constantly reminding something will seem a bit tedious. Do not let this stop you. It is merely a temporary state of discomfort that is to be expected when attempting to modify behavior. The reason that discomfort is necessary is because it's that very nudge that will push people from a stationary position into motion.

The following are steps to effectively condition the mind to be a built-in, automatic reminder of goals and priorities:

Priority Reminders. This is not rocket science. You can jot down notes, write key reminder words on the bathroom mirror, leave quick text messages on your cell phone or simply program a wristwatch alarm to go off at a predetermined time during the day. This will constantly keep bringing your attention back to the inevitable, even though it will at first be annoying. DO NOT GIVE IN! Don't let yourself turn off those reminders no matter what. Keep them in place and make sure you learn to believe in them.

Repeat, repeat, and repeat. After a while of using constant reminders, a funny thing will begin to happen. Your will begin to anticipate the reminder. Suddenly, you'll wake up a few minutes before the alarm clock, or something of the sort. When this happens, you should acknowledge it! This is a good sign. The message here is that...well, the mind is getting the message! Make it a game if you must. Tell yourself that it's awesome that you remembered your responsibility without having to be reminded.

This is where the goal truly begins to move forward, and the first early rewards of progress will become visible. This introduces the next step in the natural progression: Remedy.

Remedy. This is perhaps the most empowering state that one can experience on the way to his/her overall objective. Literally speaking, it is the point where you will begin seeing concrete results as a by-product of your actions. It is the remedy to your problems. Change is either taking place or is close around the corner, and you suddenly realize that you are getting a feel of what it was that you set out to do in the first place. It is a wonderful feeling and can be used as motivation for many challenges to come.

HINT
Although this stage is extremely fulfilling, it can also serve as a great distraction on the path to accomplishing one's goals. Early taste of success can often cause a feeling of euphoria to wash over a person and blind his objectivity. Be careful here, and don't let the first few gulps of fresh air hypnotize you into thinking you are all-powerful quite yet. This is a natural tendency, especially for beginners who experience success and control for the first time. Enjoy it, celebrate it, but know that this is only the beginning.

What to do when this happens:
Make no mistake about it, the euphoria of success will inevitably happen and create a tremendous sense of accomplishment. The objective now becomes to use this momentum constructively instead of destructively. In other words, one has to use such feelings of accomplishment and success to their advantage. This is done through the following 2 steps:

Make your priorities public knowledge. Public does not mean you should impose them on everyone. However, telling the people that are closest to you about your goals (once you are sure you are going to pursue them!) places a certain amount of obligation on you to complete them. People will hear you talk about things that interest you and automatically expect even further results. This is the opportunity to prove to them and, more importantly, to yourself that you can do it. It is a way to further obligate yourself to pursue priorities. That little obligation is often exactly what makes the difference between mistakenly thinking that the mission is accomplished and pressing on towards your goals.

Master Situational Reminders. Always look around and keep your eyes pealed! Teach yourself to do this. There will be many, many opportunities for you to be reminded of discipline and your goals in the surrounding environment. You will learn to spot situations that inspire you and remind you of your dreams. Teach yourself how to dive into brief visualization exercises during the day. Even 30 seconds can be enough time to give a quick boost by thinking of how great accomplishing that goal is going to be.

What happens when situational reminders are mastered?
Simply put, when a person masters situational reminders, everything begins to be a reminder of what/where they need to be. This level is obtainable only through experience. One must continually draw connections between real life and the desired outcomes.

Reflection. This is arguably the most important component of the cycle, and sadly, the step that is neglected the most. Reflection is the process of looking back on progress and identifying patterns about oneself and his/her natural tendencies. By learning from experiences and mistakes, you eliminate the necessity of making those mistakes again.

Let me repeat that:

By learning from experiences and your mistakes, you eliminate the necessity of making those mistakes again.

Consider for a second what this can mean! Imagine if you never have to make the same mistake twice! Some would say that this is impossible, but that's nonsense. All it takes is developing one's analytical abilities and being able to soberly evaluate past mistakes and failures to ensure that one doesn't end up running down the same rabbit trail again.

If you take your time on reflection, fantastic things will happen. You will begin to think bigger and faster. You will make decisions more accurately and quickly. You will be able to master multitasking and handle more and more challenges as times goes on. You will be calmer, relaxed, and in control.

Never pass up an opportunity to learn a good lesson.

Finally-when the train comes-hop on it! At some point, all the training will just click into place. I don't know how it happens but it does. Perhaps a few months down the line (if you are motivated) you will suddenly realize that you no longer need your alarms, notes, or those surrounding situations. Your mind will become filled with that static charge of commitment, and it will absolutely cease to give you any rest from accomplishing goals and living by priorities!

Training the mind is not unlike playing scales on a musical instrument or performing martial arts. One must (figuratively speaking) play and repeat them dozens and dozens of times before the internal mechanism picks up on the sound and rhythm. Once that happens, you will no longer need to play scales. Your "metronome" will keep pace for you no matter where you are or what is happening.

Training the mind doesn't have to be tedious or boring. You can make it fun by rewarding yourself along the way and, most importantly, doing it for the right reasons-your reasons. If you commit yourself to training your mind for a time, then you will find that your prosperity and quality of life will skyrocket in just a few short months. Remember: No matter how much time one puts into it this task, it will always pay off tenfold.