The fitness journey requires planning beyond the first step
The Latin root of the word discipline means “educate,” and the education that you give yourself through discipline is the ability to overcome impulses to procrastinate, avoid, and quit. What Tim learned as he committed to a fitness regimen is that when things get uncomfortable, one can’t rely on willpower alone to make it through. You have to have a practical foundation in place that supports your goals, and maintaining that foundation requires discipline.
⚡️ Discipline doesn’t require you to lose anything at all — it helps you gain the things you want the most.
When Tim began to create a fitness routine for himself, learning how to use discipline and routine to his advantage was his steepest learning curve. As with most hard lessons, though, it’s one that’s paid dividends over time. Discipline in fitness led to a tidal wave of change rushing throughout Tim’s life. It tightened up his entire way of being, helping him to be more productive and on point. He went from slightly sloppy — doing things how he felt like doing them — to having more integrity all around. Discipline is a skill set that you develop through practice that gives you self-control and more authority over yourself, which in turn primes you to express more of yourself freely, not less.
⚡️ Maturity is accepting that you need to do the hard work most of the time to achieve peak moments.
The idea of practicing discipline skills spares your decision fatigue and helps you stop wasting your time. The thing about discipline is that you have to keep working at it and keep taking care of your routines and your dedication to them. This is because as soon as you quit thinking about them or think you have it all nailed, routine and commitment will try to slip away. Staying disciplined is a work in progress that doesn’t stop. And while that involves effort, it’s also what keeps pouring benefits into the rest of your life. The 7 pillars of discipline are:
- Set micro-goals
- Consistency
- Communication
- Plans
- Accountability
- Creativity
- Community
Did you know? Roger Yuan, a former competitive martial artist, teaches that focusing on looks and musculature is a narrow view of fitness; the pliability of the muscles and the mobility of the joints are equally as important.