Determination is your responsibility

Guys, anyone have a sharpener?” he had asked during Art class. No reply surfaces the first time he asked. Or the second. So he went around to each student—one by one and asked for a sharpener. His efforts were futile; not even one student had a sharpener, or, at least, bothered to give one to him. Rather than making an excuse for not finishing his sketch, he silently sat down on his seat. Opened his pencil case, and took out a pair of scissors. And began chipping the pencil head’s wood away. Alas—there goes the saying; Where there is a will, there is a way.

If you remember the Work chapter we studied in school, there was a definition for Energy. Energy is the capacity to do work. In the same way, “determination” can be defined as the capacity to work, to achieve, to complete a target or a goal. Now, when are we determined to do something? When do we find the determination to do something? Answer is, when there's a need for it. Need: require (something) because it is essential or very important rather than just desirable. When we create need for something we have to supply for it as well, this is a concept of economics. The same way when we create the need of getting something done, we have to do the work for it, that's where we find “determination”.

Determination gives the pace with which you reach your goal.Its your determination which decides whether the journey towards your goal is bare footed walk or a thrusting rocket journey.Your determination is decided by how barely you need it. Take a Cold Shower Every Morning. Cold showers suck in winters. Forcing yourself to endure the icy blast of a cold shower first thing in the morning requires discipline and a high threshold for pain. They’re not easy, they’re not fun, and they’re not comfortable. So do them. Even if it’s just for 30 seconds. Start your day off by forcing yourself to endure acute stress and overcome the desire for a warm and easy shower. It will be hard. But it will build discipline like nothing else.

Meditate for 10 Minutes a Day. Meditation might seem like an odd way to build discipline. After all, you just have to sit on your butt and think about nothing right? Well, not exactly…Meditation requires you to discipline your thoughts. To clear your mind, center your body, and reconnect with your breath. Meditation helps you clear out the mental clutter and allows you to reconnect with yourself. And it’s harder than you think. Sitting and thinking about nothing but your breath requires tremendous discipline and focus. I promise you that if you are willing to give this a go for 30 days, you will increase your discipline and will power in surprising ways.

Begin Your Day with 100 Push-ups or a 1-mile Run. 100 push-ups should only take you 5 minutes. A one mile run takes 6–10 minutes. But they are powerful tools for building discipline. By starting your day with some form of physical activity, you will jump start your success throughout the day and force yourself to do something uncomfortable and difficult first thing in the morning. Do this before your morning cold shower and you will have shown more discipline before 8 a.m. than most people do all day.

Make Your Bed yourself. Making your bed takes 2 minutes. But it’s a small activity that requires discipline because, there’s no real reason to do it. Sure, it allows you to accomplish one task before you get your day started. But it’s not like making your bed will increase your income, make you more productive, or increase your sex appeal. It’s the ultimate exercise in futility. But you should still do it. Making your bed first thing in the morning puts you into a disciplined and productive state immediately when you start your day. It’s also a powerful motivation to stay awake instead of crawling into the warm sheet.

Eliminate Distractions. Distractions kill discipline. If you want to be more disciplined throughout the day, eradicate all distractions. Turn off your phone. Install a Facebook news feed blocker. Turn off notifications on your computer. Focus only on the task at hand. This will allow you to be more focused and productive and will require tremendous amounts of daily discipline. Avoiding the dopamine inducing social media notifications and text messages isn’t easy, but it’s well worth it.

Quit Complaining. Complaining is like cancer in your soul. You have a lot to be thankful for.But every time you complain, you tell yourself that your life sucks and that things aren’t the way that they should be (even when they’re great). So quit complaining. It’s like a poison. It distracts you from the good and makes you focus on everything that is wrong. It makes other people like you less, makes you miss opportunities, and distracts you from living an amazing life. Buy a rubber band and put it on your right wrist. If you find yourself complaining throughout the day, move it to your left wrist. Your goal is to make it 30 days with that rubber band staying on your right hand. If you can do this, your discipline, happiness, and motivation will skyrocket. Hope this helps. Stay Grounded, Cheers!