Let's set a goal for the new year - MASTER YOUR MIND TO ACHIEVE EVERYTHING!
It’s almost the end of 2020 and, as usual, at this time of the year, people make New Year’s resolutions.
But, as shown in U.S. News & World Report New Year’s resolutions are often neglected.
Whether the resolutions are easy or very challenging, 80% of people tend to give up on them by the second week of February.
Why do we fail in breaking through?
It's because we lack self-discipline, and we lack self-discipline because of our untamed minds.
If YOU have already read some of my past articles, YOU know that I am a great believer that human beings can achieve anything they can possibly imagine.
But on a condition only, i.e if they master their mind.
Our mind can either be our worse enemy or our best friend and leads us either to despair or to the accomplishment of whatever goal we set.
“It all begins and ends in your mind. What YOU give power to has power over YOU if YOU allow it”. - Leon Brown
Before YOU set up any goal, you should make sure you learn how to be the captain of your life without letting your mind maneuver it.
When you discipline your mind and you are in control of it, then you can focus on whatever goal you want to achieve.
Once YOU have learned how to train your mind and use it as your ally there is nothing that can stop you from being successful.
Before I examine how you can have control over your mind, I want you to become aware of where you are right now.
I want you to think about your current situation.
Are YOU satisfied with your life?
If not, it is because of what you have been doing so far.
The outcomes you get depend on what you keep doing.
And what you do is related to your beliefs and thoughts, which are reinforced by the little voice that always speaks within your mind.
You know what I am speaking about, don’t you?
That tiny voice that never stops speaking to you.
The one that tells you: “YOU can start exercising tomorrow, YOU can watch your favorite tv series instead of working on your business, YOU can eat a piece of cake as there’s nothing wrong with eating it from time to time, etc.
The problem is that we do what the f*cking little voice tells us most of the time.
Our mind tempts us exactly in the same way as the sirens tried to bewitch Ulysses.
The more we listen to that inner disempowering voice, the stronger it gets, and the less disciplined we become.
This leads us far away from what we would like to be.
We MUST be the warden of our minds and be aware of our inner dialogue every day.
I already stressed many times in my previous posts about how our mind is designed to keep us comfortable and alive.
And so, if we allow it to take control over us, it will never let us get out of our comfort zone.
That’s the rub, as long as we are confined within the boundaries of what we already know, within what we are used to doing we cannot go anywhere, we cannot grow and ultimately, we cannot succeed in whatever we would like to achieve.
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results”. - Albert Einstein
By leaving our comfort zone behind and taking a shot in the dark, we can experience our true potential, and what we are capable of.
The end of the year should be a precious time, a time of reflection when we take a moment to analyze how we have lived our life so far.
A time when we acknowledge the beliefs, thoughts, and actions that have driven us so far.
And we should be honest with ourselves and recognize that those convictions, behaviors, and habits have stopped us from achieving whatever goal we set.
And we should let them go, they have not served us, and they will continue to be the biggest hindrance on our way to success.
We MUST tell ourselves; "These thoughts, beliefs, and actions have prevented me from expressing my true self and have forced me to live a mediocre life, it’s time to equip myself with new powerful thoughts, beliefs, and actions, it’s time to take control over my mind".
COMFORT ZONE IS AN ELASTIC BAND
What happens to an elastic band when you pull it? It stretches and releases part of its elasticity.
The same happens to you when you step out of your comfort zone, stretch it, and release the initial fear that was holding you back.
But what happens when YOU don’t stretch the elastic band enough?
It goes back to the same length.
And the same happens to you if you do not push yourself beyond the known path over and over.
You cannot expect to stretch your comfort zone by doing what you don’t feel like for just one week, two weeks, or even for one month.
What happens to the elastic band when YOU keep pulling it?
It breaks!
That’s what YOU want to do with your comfort zone, you have to be consistent in doing what you don’t like doing, what is challenging, till you get used to it and no longer feel uncomfortable.
“As YOU move outside of your comfort zone, what was once the unknown and frightening becomes your new normal”. - Robin S. Sharma
Anytime YOU break your comfort zone YOU become a better version of yourself.
That’s why it is so important to develop the habit to push yourself every single day.
HOW CAN YOU MASTER YOUR MIND AND BE IN CONTROL OF YOUR OWN DESTINY?
You MUST start from today, not tomorrow, doing what you don’t feel like doing, what your tiny voice tells you to avoid.
And you MUST become aware of all the consequences that carrying on listening to it implies.
In 20 years from now do YOU want to regret missing out on life because you listened to that f*cking voice telling you not to dare to pursue your dream?
Or,
do you want to look back and be proud of what you have become, of what you have accomplished?
You MUST be driven by the fear of not expressing your true potential and of living a mediocre existence rather than by the fear of doing something new.
I am not stating that getting out of your comfort zone is easy; it is very tough, but I can assure you that it is worth all the effort.
Success is not a walk in the park, it comes from hard work, perseverance, and consistency.
“Success doesn’t come to YOU, YOU go to it”. - Marva Collins
Having said that, let’s consider what you can start doing to forge your self-discipline.
You will master your mind by doing the things you don’t like doing.
This way YOU will gain power and confidence to pursue whatever goal you have.
8 TIPS TO DEVELOP SELF-DISCIPLINE AND MASTER YOUR MIND
1)CHANGE YOUR BREAKFAST:
Maybe you always have tea as soon as you wake up, it’s time to change and have something else.
It may be uncomfortable and that’s exactly what we are looking for.
Feel the discomfort that can come from having a different breakfast and, above all feel the pleasant sensation that comes once you have got used to the new habit.
You might be surprised to feel how annoying change your breakfast can be.
This shows that even simple habits are difficult to replace.
2)WAKE UP ONE HOUR EARLIER:
Waking up early can be very challenging above all when it's cold.
Perfect train to develop your self-discipline.
3)SKIP A MEAL OR EVEN FAST FOR ONE DAY:
Even if you love eating, it’s time to force yourself to resist your temptation to have something to eat.
Fasting can strengthen your self-discipline and, as research shows, it can be beneficial to your health.
4)WEAR A WEIGHTED VEST:
I have personally been doing it for some months right now, and as you can imagine it is not comfortable to carry the extra weight all day long.
But our purpose is to get used to being uncomfortable in order to be successful in whatever we want to achieve.
And wearing the weighted vest always reminds me of this crucial concept: if you want to be successful you must be ready to get uncomfortable.
5)HAVE COLD SHOWERS:
This is another habit that I have introduced into my routine because I love having hot showers, but I want to comply with the rule “Do what YOU don’t like doing”.
Maybe you can beat the inner voice that tells you not to do it by becoming aware of the scientific benefits that having cold showers brings about.
6)WORKOUT EVERY DAY:
By strengthening your body and by developing your muscles you will also develop your self-discipline.
When you can see by yourself the changes in your body you reinforce your awareness that hard work and consistency always pay off.
7)HAVE A WALK IN NATURE INSTEAD OF HAVING A STROLL IN THE MALL:
Maybe you are addicted to spree shopping.
You are tempted to go to the mall and buy something new.
It is high time you changed your itinerary and got out in nature.
8)LEAVE YOUR PHONE AT HOME WHEN YOU GO FOR A WALK:
If you are anything like me, you also find yourself spending hours every day looking at the screen of your smartphone.
Not taking your phone with you can be very challenging, but unless you leave it at home you get distracted by countless texts and emails, and you cannot enjoy your walk.
The above 8 tips are just examples of what I have been doing to develop my self-discipline.
It doesn’t matter if you do something different from what I shared above.
You must simply come up with new challenges to force yourself to get out of your comfort zone.
Like a muscle, that requires time to grow, you need to develop your self-discipline by being consistent, one challenge after another.
Basically, you build your self-discipline, and you master your mind by intentionally enduring the temporary discomfort of changing your habits.
You might think that I am a masochist, that I love hurting myself.
Please don’t get me wrong, I do really love myself and it is for this reason that I am doing those unpleasant things.
I know that success requires sacrifice, pain, and discomfort, that's why I have been training myself and my mind to not come up short, but to follow through to do whatever it takes to get where I want to be.
Our daily task should be to dominate the tiny voice that wants to stop us from becoming the best version of ourselves.
Like every new habit, doing what you don’t like takes time, but once you have established it, you will be the master of your life.
At the end of the day, the biggest obstacle that separates YOU from your goals is YOU.
You are responsible for listening to or ignoring that f*cking voice that tells you not to go for it.
Once the famous actor Will Smith was asked:
”What separates people who achieve their goals from those who don’t?”
Here’s what he answered:
“Self-discipline is the center of all material success. You cannot win the war against the world if you cannot win the war against your own mind”. - Will Smith
CONCLUSIONS
Now that you are aware that there are 2 sides to yourself, one that wants the best for you at all costs and the other that holds you back, my question is:
Which side of YOU will win?
Comfort zone or self-discipline?
Which voice are YOU going to listen to?
There’s a side of you that wants to be healthy, and the other one that tells you: "Come on mate, let’s watch tv instead of going to the gym”.
There’s a side of you that wants to start your own business, and the other one that tells you: "Come on mate, it’s too difficult, YOU cannot do that”.
Whatever voice YOU are going to listen to, it’s going to dictate what your life will look like.
I am looking forward to hearing how you manage to control the tiny voice within yourself and what strategies you are applying to force yourself to do what you don’t like doing.
All the best for a new fulfilling and thriving year.
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Hi, thanks for your article and sharing your tips!!
I totally agree with you… such an inspiring belief… ☺️