In this video, we'll discuss the five mental hindrances to self-discipline:

The Brain That Works Against You: Our brains are wired for instant

gratification, which can make it difficult to stick to our goals. We'll

explore how to overcome this obstacle and rewire your brain for success.

Hear it Here - https://bit.ly/mindovermatterhollins

00:00:00 Mind Over Matter

00:08:42 5 Mental Hindrances To Self-Discipline

00:16:12 The Brain That Works Against You

00:29:20 Time Orientation

00:38:56 It's Up To You

Time Orientation: Our perception of time can have a significant

impact on our ability to stay disciplined. We'll discuss how to develop a

positive time orientation that will help you stay focused and

motivated.

It's Up to You: Ultimately, self-discipline is a

choice. We'll explore how to take responsibility for your actions and

make the decisions that will lead to success.

Mind Over Matter:

The Self-Discipline to Execute Without Excuses,

Control Your Impulses,

and Keep Going When You Want to Give Up

Written by

Peter Hollins, narrated by russell newton.

Chapter 1.

Mind Over Matter .

Rosa became obsessed with films after

watching Back to the Future at the age

of eight,

and subsequently decided she wanted to

be a movie director.

There hasn't been any other ambition

for her ever since.

She always kept her goal of directing

in mind,

even though for the next 20 years,

she never made any concrete steps

toward it other than to be an avid

movie watcher.

Her knowledge of arcane movie trivia

was second to none.

Whatever hours she didn't spend

watching films she spent on the

Internet and in history books reading

about them.

If she could have gone on the trivia

television show Jeopardy,

she would have been a long-running

champion.

Rosa had read multiple biographies of

all of her favorite directors -

Spielberg,

Kurosawa,

Fellini,

Miyazaki,

and more.

Yet she never translated this research,

knowledge,

and information into action.

She had a fairly expensive video camera

that she kept confined to her closet,

as well as an archive of film editing

software that she had only used a

handful of times.

They were all too intimidating and

confusing.

Moreover,

what if she discovered that all her

knowledge and preparation weren't

enough and she was destined to fail at

becoming a director?

It was easier to take the path of least

resistance and remain in inaction.

At least learning about Fellini and

Miyazaki's favorite films made her feel

productive to some degree,

even if she was avoiding the elephant

in the room.

One day,

she discovered an acquaintance of hers

had started a YouTube channel that was

quickly amassing millions of views.

Out of curiosity,

she started viewing the videos and was

struck by what she saw.

This wasn't art-the shots weren't

framed adequately,

her focus was wrong,

and the narrative structure was

reversed!

None of the viewers seemed to care,

however,

as the views continued to increase.

What's more,

the reviews of the videos were all

glowing and encouraging.

No one cared about the framing or focus.

So Rosa made a dramatic decision.

If she can do it,

why can't I?

For four months she was going to make

real,

concrete strides toward becoming a

director-of anything.

It was time to buckle down and keep

going when all she wanted to do was

give up.

No more retreating to her comfort zone;

she was going to translate her dreams

into reality through sheer willpower

and self-discipline.

She already had the knowledge;

it was just time to put it into action.

She first organized her time into two

categories - "learn" and "practice."

During "learn" time,

Rosa methodically studied how to write

a script,

assemble a plot,

and what methods renowned directors

used to get the shots they wanted.

During "practice" time,

she experimented with different shots

and angles,

wrote a few scenes,

and changed perspectives and storylines

to see which ones worked the best.

No more was she spending hours watching

commentary of old movies she'd seen

hundreds of times before.

And no more was she letting her

equipment gather dust in the closet for

fear of not being able to use it

correctly.

The day those four months ended,

Rosa set out to make her film.

She found a few local actors who were

willing to work for pizza.

She herself was the camerawoman.

Her cousin was her sound person,

and her dog was a prop.

When she finished,

she put it online and it garnered a few

hundred views,

mostly from family and friends.

Rosa wasn't a professional filmmaker,

but these were all steps on the journey

to seeing her wishes become reality.

She committed herself to completing one

short film every month thereafter.

She soon grew a reputation for being

one of the speediest and most

knowledgeable directors in the business.

A scant three years later,

one of her short films was entered into

a film festival competition,

something she never even dreamed about

when she was just starting out.

While she didn't win any prizes,

she still gained recognition and began

to be able to support herself through

her childhood dream of directing.

Some might say Rosa was lucky.

That is partially true-but if Rosa had

never made the decision to buckle down

and do what she had been avoiding for

years,

she never would have been in the

position to be lucky.

So what brought Rosa the success she

attained as a director?

She realized just in time that she

needed to give herself the gift of

self-discipline.

She knew that whatever she wanted was

behind a door that could only be

unlocked by it,

and no one else could do it for her.

She changed her habits,

started thinking methodically,

and put her ideas into motion.

She didn't accept a lifestyle devoid of

challenge or pain,

and she willed herself to a goal

through hardship and struggle.

She didn't give up when she wanted to,

as she did for years,

and put her goals above a sense of

temporary discomfort.

Self-discipline,

willpower,

self-control,

"mind over matter"-whatever you want to

call it,

that's what Rosa summoned,

and that's what this book is about.

It's the process of going through what

we'd rather avoid,

in order to reach what makes us

happiest.

On the surface,

it's easy to explain - ensuring that we

act in accordance with our intentions.

It means focusing our intentions and

behaviors in one direction to achieve

the life we want.

It represents the ability to do what we

want no matter what.

We intellectually and logically know

that it's the way to what we want.

So why did Rosa wait years to act?

Why is it so hard for many of us?

Self-discipline and matching a thought

to an action involves the mind.

The second part-the action-is not a

problem because our arms and legs

generally do what we tell them to do.

They aren't pulled in different

directions by stray thoughts.

Even if they don't listen to us the

first time,

we can physically force them into

compliance.

But the mind-your thoughts,

intentions,

and expectations-can't be twisted and

forced into anything.

Consider that the goal of most

meditation and mindfulness practices is

to eliminate all mental chatter to

focus on a single thought,

or to focus on a physical sensation and

no thought at all.

Control and mastery over our minds is

one of the best weapons against stress

and anxiety.

Arguably,

control over the mind and translating

that into action is one of life's most

elusive achievements.

Quick-don't think about the purple

elephant wearing a tutu.

Did my warning work?

Are you now not picturing the elephant

standing in a meadow with its big

floppy ears and a white sheer tutu?

Are you successfully not imagining its

trunk and thick legs?

Probably not.

And that's why the mind is such a

difficult beast to defeat.

Self-discipline is the creation of a

clear path between your internal and

external realities,

no matter what.

No matter if there are no immediate

rewards;

in fact,

the rewards are usually so far away

that you can't even fathom them at the

moment.

No matter that sometimes the progress

is so gradual that it's difficult for

one to gauge any difference,

and if they can't see exactly how

they're getting better,

then they're apt to give up.

No matter that other times,

the mind is hijacked by emotions,

triggers,

and otherwise damaging thought patterns.

This is just a small sampling of what

we battle on the road from intentions

to actions.

However well-intentioned you are,

your mind just doesn't care.

It has to be coaxed,

built,

and even tricked into compliance,

and that's what you'll learn in this

book.

Appropriately,

this first chapter is about the various

obstacles we face in putting a leash on

our minds.

5 Mental Hindrances To Self-Discipline .

What blocks us from attaining strong

self-discipline?

An especially illustrative set of

obstacles comes from Buddhist

philosophy.

When you think of Buddhism,

the world discipline is usually not far

away.

In fact,

discipline is right at the core of

Buddhist teachings.

Its tenets emphasize maintaining a

sense of control over one's mind and

body as a means to fulfillment.

In fact,

it preaches that we are naturally

endowed with the ability to do what we

want and feel happiness at all times.

However,

we give up those feelings of control to

someone or something outside of

ourselves;

we relinquish our own power to an

external force that we perceive has

more power.

We say "I can't," "I shouldn't," or "I

won't" far more often than we should.

We say it so much that we believe that

fighting against these powers is

useless,

and thus we lose power over ourselves.

In other words,

when we tell ourselves we have no

discipline,

it ends up being true.

Therefore,

Buddhism teaches that a lack of

personal power is illusory.

It can be difficult to take that power

back,

but this,

of course,

is one of the first steps to

self-discipline-believing that it's

possible and within your control.

Part of the process involves knowing

exactly how we're being blocked or

prohibited from exercising that control.

To that end,

there are five areas that cover most,

if not all,

of the sources of our trepidation in

taking control of our lives.

If you're just starting to figure out

where your shortcomings in

self-discipline exist,

these five areas are helpful to start

investigating yourself.

If you're a grizzled veteran seeking

new methods,

these five areas may provide new

perspective on familiar issues.

Below are the five mental hindrances - .

* giving in to the five senses .

* animosity and malice .

* apathy and laziness .

* anxiety and remorse .

* hesitation and doubt .

Giving in to the five senses.

Control over our thoughts is usurped

when we are distracted by our physical

surroundings.

We put too much attention and

importance on information from our

senses of sight,

sound,

smell,

hearing,

and touch-whether it's physical beauty,

the smell of freshly baked bread,

a great love song,

or a horrible scene of violence.

We allow these sensations to overwhelm

us and replace our conscious thoughts

and goals.

Our senses bring us the most immediate

understanding of the external world,

and as such,

we overstate their importance to us.

Many of us only believe in what we can

experience with these senses,

or we at least allow them to take over

our concentration as we seek to gratify

ourselves.

Sensory information by its very nature

is instant gratification.

But not everything is beneficial or

even deserves our attention.

To attain self-discipline,

we need to put sensory information in

its proper context - allowing ourselves

to indulge in and experience those

senses fully but also keeping aware

that they are temporary,

distracting,

and ultimately hindrances.

Animosity and malice.

Emotions have the ability to completely

override our thoughts of

self-discipline,

and anger is one of the strongest

emotions.

People are adept at unconsciously

ingraining all emotions adjacent to

anger,

such as resentment,

bitterness,

and animosity,

into their thought patterns.

The destructive power of malice isn't

just about what other people do to us,

either-it can also be directed toward

ourselves in the acts of guilt or

self-loathing.

They have the ability to undermine all

of our thoughts and render us

practically blind in fits of rage.

We obsess over past miscarriages of

justice or fairness that hurt us - the

ex who broke your heart,

the company that fired you for stupid

reasons,

or the drive-thru restaurant that got

your order wrong.

These feelings activate our impulse to

exact retribution or punish the people

or institutions who have "done us

wrong."

It's draining at best and self-sabotage

at worst.

When you act to address animosity and

malice,

you certainly don't address your goals.

Apathy and laziness.

The simple act of doing is not usually

preferable.

Being human takes a lot of work.

For many,

it's easier to allow themselves and

their bodies to seek an escape from

constant mental and physical activity

by shutting down and feeling nothing.

Whatever it takes to get along in the

world is just too much for them to deal

with,

and the end product is apathy and sloth.

This is a mental hindrance you are

probably quite familiar with.

Humans tend to enjoy the path of least

resistance and will seek it whenever

possible.

The problem is when this becomes an

instinctual course of action,

with a corresponding inability to break

out of it when necessary.

Anxiety and remorse.

Like anger,

anxiety has the ability to completely

overpower your more productive thoughts.

The previous three hindrances show how

one can be immobilized by inner

thoughts-but anxiety causes you to be

mentally overactive and do too much.

Anxiety is the fear of a bad or

less-than-perfect outcome leading to

agitation and worry,

making one become overwhelmed with

stress,

worry,

and then finally remorse after the fact.

How can you function if you are

crippled with fear?

It becomes clear that no action at all

is far safer.

Self-discipline is relegated to a

distant priority compared to safety and

security.

Hesitation,

disbelief,

and uncertainty.

Why would you engage in self-discipline

if you believe it is all for nothing?

For somebody who struggles with doubt,

low self-esteem,

or insecurity,

self-questioning can be a debilitating

factor that goes well past the point

where introspection remains valuable.

"I don't know if I can do this," "Am I

doing this right?"

"What's the point of this anyway?"

"What the heck is this?"-all these

questions serve as barriers to

disciplined action.

They indirectly call out our reasons

for doing anything or raise just enough

uncertainty about a given task that you

might abandon it without much

resistance-the very opposite of what a

self-disciplined person does.

Planning and powering past these doubts

is a key to restoring self-discipline.

Unfortunately,

it's not as easy as self-awareness,

as you'll learn in the next section.

Though you may be able to solve a

couple of your mental hindrances

through stopping and pausing,

you'll need to address some deeper,

biological issues as well.

The Brain That Works Against You .

Almost nobody will argue against the

importance of self-discipline,

even if they know they fall short in

practicing it on a daily basis.

Anyone with some life experience under

their belt knows that they can

accomplish more with a healthy sense of

constraint and willpower.

If they haven't always exhibited

self-control themselves,

at least they've seen examples of

successful people who have-and they'll

readily admit that such people at least

appear to get more done than those

without self-control.

Why do we fight against our own

self-interests when it comes to

instilling discipline into our own

lives?

Is it just that we don't want to eat

our vegetables?

Not quite.

Unfortunately,

a major reason-a more general reason

that directly or indirectly causes each

of the five mental hindrances-is the

brain itself.

The brain is a network.

It's fundamentally composed of nerve

cells,

or neurons.

These neurons communicate to each other

through chemical reactions-an impulse

in one nerve fiber gets activated,

then is converted into a chemical that

flies across the gap and is received by

another nerve fiber.

This act,

multiplied by about a trillion times a

day,

basically controls everything we do,

say,

or think.

That chemical that's flying across the

gap is called a neurotransmitter,

and different neurotransmitters are

responsible for different

communications to the brain.

It wouldn't be inaccurate to say that

our thoughts and reactions are

determined by these chemicals.

Self-discipline is especially tied to a

specific neurotransmitter - dopamine.

Dopamine is one of the agents that work

on the brain's pleasure and reward

centers.

In other words,

when we experience pleasure or reward

of some type,

dopamine is usually at the root of

it-the greater the amount of dopamine

released,

the greater the pleasure we feel.

It happens during and after a

pleasurable event-you feel it while you

are eating a dozen donuts and also

after you finish a great workout at the

gym.

However,

dopamine is also released in

anticipation of pleasure or reward,

which ties it directly to

self-discipline.

It sabotages it.

The reality of the matter is that we

are all dopamine junkies.

We want it right now and as soon as

possible.

Our brains crave it,

and it plays a big part in telling us

when to act or stop.

This trait makes it difficult for us to

ignore something that gives us instant

dopamine in favor of delayed dopamine,

even if it will be substantially

greater at a later point.

Why go to the gym when you can eat a

pie right now,

even if you know what's better for you?

Dopamine is what we seek,

and this causes us to be ruled by one

of the most well-known theories

concerning human behavior-the pleasure

principle.

The reason it's so renowned is because

it's also the easiest to understand.

The pleasure principle was first raised

in public consciousness by the father

of psychoanalysis,

Sigmund Freud,

though researchers as far back as

Aristotle in ancient Greece noted how

easily we could be manipulated by

pleasure and pain.

The pleasure principle asserts that the

human mind does everything it can to

seek out pleasure and avoid pain.

It doesn't think;

it doesn't analyze;

it just acts like a blind animal

urgently moving in the direction that

it feels more pleasure and less pain.

It doesn't have any sense of restraint.

It is primal and unfiltered.

It doesn't get simpler than that.

An apt comparison,

in fact,

is a drug addict who will stop at

nothing to get another taste of

narcotics.

There are a few rules that govern the

pleasure principle - .

Every decision we make is based on

gaining pleasure or avoiding pain in

some way.

You may have heard about the debate

that there is no truly altruistic and

selfless act in the world.

According to this principle,

there definitely isn't.

Even giving to charity would in some

way bring pleasure or avoid pain.

No matter what we do in the course of

our day,

it all gets down to the pleasure

principle.

You get a haircut because you think it

will make you more attractive to

someone else,

which will make you happy,

which is pleasure.

Conversely,

you wear a protective mask while you're

using a blowtorch because you want to

avoid sparks flying into your face and

eyes,

because that will be painful.

If you trace all of our decisions back,

whether short-term or long-term,

you'll find that they all stem from a

small set of pleasures or pains.

Self-discipline corollary - doing what

we need to do is often painful and

devoid of pleasure,

so we don't do it.

People work harder to avoid pain than

to get pleasure.

Your behaviors will skew toward pain

avoidance more than pleasure-seeking.

The instinct to survive a threatening

situation is more immediate than eating

your favorite candy bar,

for instance.

You would rather avoid getting punched

in the face than drink your favorite

whiskey.

Self-discipline corollary - giving up

is often less painful than persevering.

So we give up.

Our perceptions of pleasure and pain

are more powerful drivers than the

actual things.

When our brain is judging between what

will be a pleasant or painful

experience,

it's working from scenarios that we

think could result if we took a course

of action.

And sometimes those scenarios can be

flawed.

In fact,

they are mostly flawed.

For instance,

you might be deathly afraid of heights.

Sky-diving would naturally be your

worst nightmare.

It is for me,

anyway.

You might have no idea how it feels.

You have probably never gone

bungee-jumping or even ridden a

roller-coaster.

Perhaps the most you've tested your

fear of heights is standing on the

balcony of your two-story house.

But the thought of jumping out of a

plane makes you physically nauseous.

You imagine how the feeling of

weightlessness is a precursor to death.

You imagine that you will indeed die.

But you haven't actually tried it.

All you have are perceptions and

assumptions,

and that's enough to magnify the pain

of sky-diving to extremes.

Incidentally,

sky-diving has an incredibly low rate

of accidents and is over within a

series of minutes.

Your brain deals in the business of

worst-case scenarios.

Self-discipline corollary -

unfamiliarity breeds fear,

which breeds avoidance.

So you avoid acting.

Pleasure and pain are changed by time.

In general,

we focus on the here and now - what can

I get very soon that will bring me

happiness?

Also,

what is coming up very soon that could

be painful and I'll have to avoid?

Immediacy is king.

One dollar right now is far more

attractive than five dollars in one

month's time.

The pleasure and pain that might happen

months or years from now don't really

register with us-what's most important

is whatever's right at our doorstep.

This certainly doesn't help our sense

of planning for the future if we are

stuck in the present moment.

Self-discipline corollary - the rewards

we seek are rarely immediate,

and often,

the longer-term they are,

the greater they are.

But we're stuck in the now,

so we avoid action.

Emotion beats logic.

When it comes to the pleasure

principle,

your feelings tend to overshadow

rational thought.

You might know that doing something

will be good or bad for you.

You'll understand all the reasons why

it will be good or bad.

You get all that.

But then an emotional impulse rears its

head and screams,

"So what?!"

There's nothing you can do to control

the power of a volcano,

even if you know it's within your

control.

Losing a dollar might be bad on its

own,

but when you insert emotion into this

loss,

it stops becoming about the dollar,

and more about everything the dollar

could possibly represent,

and then you're headed down a slippery

slope.

Self-discipline corollary - logic

doesn't control our behavior nearly as

much as we would like to believe it

does.

At this point,

you should see the writing on the wall

that the pleasure principle is one of

the main saboteurs of self-discipline.

We've always been biologically wired to

not think ahead and care most about the

present moment-essentially the opposite

of what self-discipline focuses on.

This is the same reason that delaying

gratification is difficult.

However,

we can skirt around this by changing

the way we think about pleasure and

pain.

In the pursuit of self-discipline,

we want to increase the pleasure in

every long-term duty or obligation we

have and lessen the pain.

There are a series of steps we can use

to do this strategically.

1. Decide what you want.

What is your goal that requires

self-discipline?

It can be as simple as working out more.

2. Take inventory of your pain and

pleasure.

This is where you take aspects of the

pleasure principle and start massaging

them to your benefit.

Here's what you do - .

* Take two sheets of paper.

Draw a line down the middle of each

page.

* At the top of the left column on both

pages,

write down "PAIN AVOIDED. " .

* At the top of the right column on

both pages,

write down "PLEASURE GAINED. " .

* Now,

at the top-center of one of the pages,

write down "BEING DISCIPLINED. " .

* At the top-center of the other pages,

write down "NOT BEING DISCIPLINED. " .

By now you probably know what we're up

to.

You're going to list the pain and

pleasure you expect you'll experience

when you take a step toward

accomplishing your goal or when you

decide not to.

To motivate yourself psychologically,

you're going to amp up the pain

associated with not being disciplined,

and the pleasure associated with being

disciplined.

This may seem elementary,

but it's a level of perspective and

insight that you can use to combat your

impulses.

Just taking stock of what happens in

reality can help quell your impulses.

For example,

let's take that goal of working out

more.

Let's go with the "NOT BEING

DISCIPLINED" bit first.

It might look something like this - .

NOT BEING DISCIPLINED to work out more .

PAIN AVOIDED .

PLEASURE GAINED .

Embarrassment,

shame at gym .

More television time .

No sore muscles .

More free time in general .

Paying gym fees .

Now let's make one up for "BEING

DISCIPLINED" - .

BEING DISCIPLINED to work out more .

PAIN AVOIDED .

PLEASURE GAINED .

Feeling lazy .

Confidence .

Lack of dates .

Attractiveness .

High blood pressure .

Real-world strength .

List as many pain and pleasure points

as you can for each scenario.

Be honest with yourself and try to

think the potential through as much as

you can.

You should get some clarity about what

your aspirations and ambitions are-not

to mention your hopes and fears.

3. Tip the scales in your favor.

This is a part where you get creative.

Take the "NOT BEING DISCIPLINED" sheet

and minimize the pains.

They are minor;

they are trivial.

Convince yourself that these small

things shouldn't have such power over

you.

Tip the scales in your favor,

so to speak.

Now,

for the "BEING DISCIPLINED" sheet,

amplify the pleasures.

Picture how utterly fantastic each of

these situations could turn out.

Think about the best-case scenarios

that could result with each of these

items.

Take the positive possibilities and run

with them.

Don't be surprised if you get a minor

dopamine rush from this alone.

This sheet is more than just an

inventory - it's a checklist for

reinforcing your self-discipline.

What you have just done is created a

very tangible cost-benefit analysis

that gets to the heart of what makes

you act.

Instead of waiting for our prehistoric

brain to sabotage our efforts because

of the lack of pie or television,

we can tip the scales a bit in our

favor when it comes to dopamine and

make our brain work for us rather than

against us.

Time Orientation .

Another influence on the level of

self-discipline we have in our lives

involves our relationship with time-not

in the sense of scheduling or "making

time," but how we reflect,

act,

and react with the notions of past,

present,

and future.

With time orientation,

in Stanford Professor Phil Zimbardo's

(the professor best known for the

Stanford prison experiment)

book The Time Paradox,

it is theorized that each of us can

view time in one of three ways - past,

present,

and future.

Our psyches tend to frame our

experience using whatever orientation

we're most acclimated to.

Put simply,

there are actual differences between

those of us who are mired in nostalgia,

versus those who are continually

looking for the next step in life.

Whatever time orientation our mindset

reflects relates to how we expect and

plan for rewards,

which feeds into how self-disciplined

we may be.

More specifically,

our attitudes toward the present and

future come squarely into play.

The past-oriented person makes all of

their decisions from historical

information or recall,

and by definition they are generally

separated from current situations or

events.

People stuck in the past don't have

much use for the new and different,

regarding them with suspicion,

disdain,

or even prejudice.

Their thinking is almost inactive-which

is not conducive to self-discipline.

They will say,

"Well,

this is what I did in the past,

so I'll just keep doing that."

However,

this type of thought is extremely rare,

and we will spend more time on future-

and present-oriented people.

Someone who focuses on the present

lives primarily in "the now."

They react most powerfully to what

their senses are showing them at the

moment.

They tend to be very concrete in their

thinking,

choosing to orient themselves toward

"what is" rather than what happened in

the past or what could happen in the

future.

The "present" mindset can be broken

down even further into two distinct

camps - those who embrace the

possibilities of the present (we'll

call them "hedonists")

and those who don't like the present

but feel they have no other choice but

to live in it (we'll call them

"fatalists").

The present-hedonistic person finds

opportunities in the current time and

is happy to indulge in what's happening

around them now.

They're the ones who go to parties,

embrace adventures in unfamiliar

places,

or interact with society on an ongoing

basis.

They're happy to take risks and don't

necessarily care too much about the

consequences (or have plans to mitigate

the results if they have to).

The present-fatalist person doesn't

really want to be focused on the

present,

but they don't feel the future holds

anything for them.

They sense that somebody or something

else-whether it's their social circle,

financial realities,

religion,

or "luck"-is in control of their lives

and consider the whole game of

existence to be "rigged."

Their expectations and hopes have been

dashed,

and they don't feel any need to work

for the future because they don't

believe they have one.

What both of the present mindsets have

in common is their attitude toward

gratification.

Since the past and the future don't

come to mind,

all that matters is momentary and

fleeting pleasure.

Both hedonists and fatalists are

oriented toward the notion of instant

gratification.

Which one of these present mindsets is

more suited to the process of building

self-discipline?

Neither of them.

Self-discipline and instant

gratification are opposing ideas.

Self-discipline confers what instant

gratification can never bring about -

patience,

restraint,

full understanding,

planning,

responsibility.

When you're oriented toward immediate

reward,

none of those other things matter.

This is an appropriate time to invoke

the fable of the ant and the

grasshopper.

Briefly speaking,

the ant worked long and hard all year

and never faltered from storing food

and preparing for winter.

The ant always knew what would matter

in the long-term.

The grasshopper,

however,

only did enough to get by day to day

and didn't think about the winter.

He only thought about maximizing his

pleasure in the moment.

When winter came,

the ants fared just fine,

if not annoyed at eating the same thing

for months on end.

The grasshopper starved from a lack of

preparation.

Present-oriented people are the

grasshopper,

while future-oriented people are ants.

And you can guess which time

orientation is more conducive to

self-discipline.

Those with future mindsets frame their

lives differently.

They aren't bound strictly to what the

present has to offer (or deny)

them.

They are able to disconnect from it;

concrete and empirical reality doesn't

bind them.

They focus on the future with all its

distant possibilities and consequences.

The future-oriented first think about

the outcome they want,

then work backward to how their actions

create it.

They do so without the distractions of

the present.

And even though they frequently work

with abstract ideas and no guarantee of

positive results,

they still organize their thoughts and

actions toward fulfillment of some

future goal.

In other words,

the future-oriented have no problem

with delayed gratification.

They don't need instant affirmation or

reward for their efforts.

They understand that what's most

important to them might take a little

time to develop.

Sometimes that means working in

something that feels like a vacuum (or

might seem like a vacuum to someone

living in the present).

But all it means is that the futurist

is willing to forsake immediate

satisfaction now for a more fulfilling

and meaningful satisfaction

later-possibly.

That mindset is perfectly suited to

someone with strong self-discipline.

The futurist develops patience as a

plank of their long-range planning.

They keep the greater goal in mind

rather than the annoyances that

eventually get them there.

This meshes well with other research on

the matter showing that thinking about

a literal future version of you is

helpful in adhering to habits and

accomplishing goals.

Let's talk about this in terms of

baseball.

Most,

if not all,

baseball teams are under immense

pressure from owners and fans to win

now,

which leads them to trade away some of

their minor-league prospects for proven

players who might be able to lead them

to the promised land for a season or

two.

Sometimes it works,

and the team makes the playoffs or

might even win a championship.

But they don't stay on top for too long

because they dealt away too many of

their future players for the one big

gun that will help them win next week.

But some teams-most recently the

Houston Astros-spend a few years taking

their lumps with players they developed

with an eye toward the future.

Their process was so unusual that

Sports Illustrated did a cover story on

the Astros in 2014 - "Baseball's Great

Experiment - Your 2017 World Series

Champs."

The Astros wanted to build a core of

great players that could help them

contend on an annual basis,

not just in a one-and-done scenario

where they have a one- or two-year

window.

So they built up their farm system

(their minor-league developing players)

to sharpen and develop their skills,

keeping them together through years of

patience and losing,

before they finally bloomed into a

contending team with players they

didn't cast off for the big shiny

object.

This set them back considerably in the

short-term but paid off in the end.

It required great discipline to not

give in to temptations to stem the

short-term pain.

Such teams are built for long periods

of success,

and for the Astros,

it brought them a World Series

championship-in the year 2017,

exactly as S. I. had predicted.

It should be noted most of us are a

blend of present and future-oriented

thinking.

This means that we end up with two

distinct selves that we have to attend

to and keep satisfied.

They are quite aptly summed up with the

hedonist grasshopper (present)

and blue-collar ant (future)

from earlier.

If you compromise the two equally,

it results in an ant that takes breaks

while diligently working toward a goal

and the grasshopper that realizes that

discomfort is required in life.

That's really the best we can expect in

everyday life.

The concept of time orientations should

force you to consider and skew your

view toward the future.

Future you is trying to build a

foundation for their success.

He's the one that has your best

interests in mind.

Self-discipline is an irreplaceable

part of that foundation.

It's Up To You .

The obstacles to self-discipline as

we've outlined them so far might seem

like a big load to handle.

And they are;

most people never break through any of

them and it reflects in their lives.

You yourself might be wondering if it's

beyond your reach or capabilities - "Am

I really capable of breaking through

and developing the willpower I need to

do what I need to do?"

As the saying goes,

"Whether you think you can or you

can't,

you're right."

When it comes to developing willpower,

the most important factor might not be

your mental or physical abilities or

the range of what you can accomplish.

Rather,

it may simply be your belief that you

can develop willpower.

A study by researcher Veronika Job

examined university students over a

single scholastic term.

Job asked the students to evaluate

themselves on their ability to maintain

willpower over the course of a given

task-whether they need to take a break

after a run of tough work or whether

their endurance "fueled itself" and

allowed them to keep going.

Across the board,

the students who believed that their

willpower was unlimited did better in

several measures.

They regulated their activities better,

kept procrastination at bay,

got better grades,

and were even better at eating right

and maintaining physical health.

On the other side,

students who said they needed to

recharge themselves from time to time

were especially beset by

procrastination,

often made poor dietary decisions,

and found themselves easily distracted.

They even spent more

money-theoretically while they were

distracting themselves with online

destinations.

Job's results indicated that those

students who were convinced of their

own abilities and really believed they

had more willpower actually did.

Their self-messaging turned out to be a

crucial element in their superior

performance,

to the point where it couldn't simply

be coincidence.

Score another point for the placebo

effect.

This is great news because it implies

that although building willpower is a

challenge,

a huge part of the solution is simply

believing that you can do it.

We have exactly as much willpower as we

think we do.

Building self-discipline is your choice

and yours alone-it's all up to you.

Nobody and nothing else have as much

influence in the attainment of your

goals.

It doesn't matter how your brain is

wired or where you are oriented with

regards to time.

What overrides those is your belief in

yourself.

Ultimately,

this ends up being a good thing because

it places the power in your hands.

Whether you can or cannot be

disciplined is up to you.

For some,

this is a freeing thought to determine

one's behavior and actions.

By producing your own incentive and

making self-discipline its own reward,

you'll see positive effects unveil

themselves on a daily,

gradual basis.

These benefits include the following,

which you can also feel free to factor

into your pleasure principle

cost-benefit analysis.

Avoiding temptation.

The self-disciplined mind knows that

fighting temptation is a Herculean task.

Even the strongest-minded person might

feel a tinge of enticement when they're

walking past the window of an ice cream

shop where there's a huge color display

of a towering sundae hanging in the

window.

Unless you hate ice cream,

you'll feel a twinge.

But what self-discipline helps you do

is avoid the temptation-pass the shop

by without feeling the need to indulge.

This is because self-discipline helps

you control and direct yourself when

there are clashing internal forces at

work.

Your mind won't focus on the

deprivation aspect - it'll concentrate

on the good you're producing.

More life satisfaction.

Those who practice self-discipline

frequently report that they're happier

than people who don't.

This reality flies in the face the idea

that self-discipline means not having

any fun.

What you're trying to get on the

pathway of self-control will be a

thousand times more gratifying than the

rewards of an immediate thrill-it's

just going to take a little longer.

Patience can be frustrating.

When you live in a society like we do,

where instant pleasure is relatively

easy to pursue,

it can really be hard to walk a line of

restraint and control,

especially when you have friends who

constantly live for the moment.

But what you're after is bigger than

that - you want to create a more

satisfying and contented lifetime.

That's something that only

self-discipline and continued focus

will bring.

When it does,

it'll be much more meaningful and

satisfying than those brief,

isolated diversions.

You do more of what you want.

On a similar note,

those who take up a life of

self-discipline are often imagined as

"not doing" things.

They're not up to date on the current

hit T. V. shows;

they're not hanging out with their bar

friends on a nightly basis;

they're not traveling to Fort

Lauderdale on spring break.

In some way or another,

they're perceived as being left out-but

that's only according to other people's

concept of fun.

In reality,

the self-disciplined person is giving

themselves more opportunity to do what

they actually want to do.

This comes about in two ways.

First,

you have the ability to position

yourself for success and do what needs

to be done.

This leaves time for the interests you

want to pursue,

and it can even be just a lazy

afternoon of television.

Second,

you have the discipline to do

challenging things that you want.

You might want to climb a set of

mountains or run a marathon.

Self-discipline is how you do them.

They're doing activities that are

rewarding and enriching-and they're

doing them because they've disciplined

themselves to be able to do them and

appreciate them.

You gain ultimate freedom.

Actually,

you're MORE in the moment.

Taking the road to self-discipline is a

constant process that frequently

requires you to make choices.

You need to be fully aware of the

decisions that can help you the most.

Sometimes opportunities will arise out

of nowhere - a chance to talk with

someone who's been down your path

before and can give you some advice or

support or an activity like yoga that

can help you develop more mental

stamina and concentration.

These opportunities seem to arise for

people who are working on

self-discipline,

but it's not magic.

It's because you're more aware and

attuned to things that will help you

get to where you want to go.

The self-disciplined mind isn't shut

off-far from it.

It's looking for and recognizing those

chances all the time.

You're more aware of what's happening

around you.

You're not missing anything.

You're just making a different choice.

Setting boundaries.

Chances are,

you have at least one or two good

friends or relations who will be

thrilled to support you in any way they

can.

But let's face it - there will also be

a few of them who will try-knowingly or

otherwise-to knock you off your path to

self-discipline.

"C'mon,

you can miss a gym session.

There's beer and a game of Call of Duty

with your name on it."

Self-discipline helps you identify

those conflicts before they begin and

can make you stand your ground.

It can also build your resolve to

resist the pleadings and guilt-tripping

of others who might not be that

understanding of your goal to improve

yourself.

Knowing yourself.

Finally,

self-discipline is one of the best ways

to find out who you really are and what

you really value-in a real-world

setting.

At times our situations can seem so

bothersome or troubling that we can't

imagine any course other than escape.

But in those scenarios,

you're not just escaping hardship or

the world - you're also escaping

yourself.

Self-discipline is a means to reject

the traits of reaction and retreat.

It gives you something to actively work

on every day and forces you to make

decisions and take actions based on

what you really need.

Through that process,

you will learn more about yourself than

you ever have before.

You'll see why you made certain

decisions in the past,

and you'll understand what kind of

person you really are.

Takeaways - .

Summary .

* Self-discipline is the act of putting

mind over matter and dictating exactly

what your actions and behaviors are.

But control over the mind is like

saying you want to take a casual stroll

to the surface of the sun.

It's not easy and it must be reined in

constantly for you to even have a

chance of self-discipline.

As it turns out,

there are many obstacles to acting

disciplined and controlling yourself.

* Buddhism teaches five mental

hindrances to self-discipline - giving

in to the five senses,

animosity and malice,

apathy and laziness,

anxiety and remorse,

and hesitation and doubt.

The common thread is that they all

require immediate and urgent attention,

even if it is fabricated urgency.

When you are so focused on the now,

the later that self-discipline serves

becomes wholly unimportant.

* Another aspect of being unable to

move past the present moment and plan

for the future is how the

neurotransmitter dopamine influences

our actions.

Humans abide by the pleasure principle;

we seek pleasure and avoid pain

whenever possible,

even subconsciously.

Acting self-disciplined very rarely

brings you pleasure,

and most of the time it actively brings

some measure of pain or at least

discomfort.

That's a problem.

We must change the way we think about

pleasure and pain,

and who we want to benefit the most -

in most cases,

your future self.

* Time orientation is yet another

problem with self-discipline.

Some of us are present-oriented-this

will not serve you well because you

won't be able to act in the best

interests of future you.

Others of us are future-oriented-we

think about what we want in the future

and work backward to create it.

This perspective meshes much better

with self-discipline.

In the fable of the ant and the

grasshopper,

the diligent ant is future-oriented and

survives the winter,

while the hedonistic grasshopper is

present-oriented and starves.

* In the end,

despite all of these obstacles,

whether or not you have self-discipline

is up to you.

This is in a literal sense-the placebo

effect has shown that however much you

believe you have,

that's what you'll have.

This is empowering and freeing because

it means there is nothing between you

and what you want-besides you.

It's up to you.

This is actually ultimate freedom,

not restriction,

as self-discipline is sometimes framed.

Take it as a challenge to be overcome.

This has been

Mind Over Matter:

The Self-Discipline to Execute Without Excuses,

Control Your Impulses,

and Keep Going When You Want to Give Up

Written by

Peter Hollins, narrated by russell newton.