Self-Discipline: Mind Over Mood
The ONE most important thing that will improve the quality of your life is self discipline. Self discipline is the one thing that makes the biggest difference.
Self discipline is the act of doing what your MIND tells you to do, rather than doing only what your MOOD tells you.
Self discipline is the act of placing the power of your mind OVER your mood.
You can judge any situation according to two criteria:
- A logical criteria. The Mind.
- An emotional criteria. The Mood.
Self discipline is the conscious decision to make a mindful, logical evaluation of the facts, and then to act accordingly, even if you don't feel like it.
Lack of self discipline is the unconscious decision to make an emotional evaluation of the facts, ignore logic and then to respond in an emotional manner according to how you feel in the moment.
Self discipline leads to success
Lack of self discipline leads to failure.
Examples of self discipline:
Eat the only amount you need. Don't eat more than you need, if you do then you will be overfed; you'll feel stuffed, sluggish and you'll get fat.
Do the tasks that need to be done, even if you don't feel like it.
Don't wait until you are in the mood. You are never in the mood to do your taxes. Nor are you in the mood to do the housework, or your sit-ups, or visit the dentist, or clean the toilet, or mow the lawn, or do the ironing. But all these things need to be done.
On the other hand; if you can make yourself do what you know you should do, when you know you should do it, then you will soon find yourself looking better, becoming more organised, smarter, and you'll arrive on time.
People will notice the difference and they will upgrade their opinion of you.
More importantly when you start to live according to your mind, rather than your transient moods, you will begin to feel stronger about yourself.
You will begin to realise that you are in control of you. You are in control, not your bad habits.
Self discipline, mind over mood, means:
- Don't say everything you feel like saying.
- Don't eat everything you feel like eating.
- Remember that you cannot drink your way out of trouble. You can only think your way out of trouble.
- Mind over mood means: putting your intellect in the driving seat of your life, not your moods, or feelings, or passions.
- If you let your intelligence guide your actions, you will say fewer wrong things. You will make fewer mistakes.
- The removal of avoidable mistakes in the way you speak and the way you act will make a major impact on your overall results.
A life containing fewer errors
Can you imagine how life would be better if you stopped saying the wrong things; if you only did the rights things and avoided making errors of omission; if you were well prepared, always early and ready to do battle? If you were fitter, better informed and better prepared?
All of these attributes are yours for the taking, if only you would put your mind before your mood.
Self discipline is simply the act of putting your mind before your mood and acting according to what your intellect tells you and NOT responding in an emotional manner to the circumstances of the day.
It is that simple! Good luck.
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Self discipline
Self discipline is the skill of letting clear thought guide every act instead of passing feeling. You check the facts, decide with reason, move at once, hold steady when urges rise, and repeat this choice daily until it becomes a firm habit that drives you towards your goals.
CG4D Definition
Context: Personal development
Genus: Skill
- Mind guides action, not mood
- Choice rests on reason and facts
- Will resists short-term urges
- Practice repeats until it forms steady habits
Article Summary
Self discipline is choosing thought over feeling; when you let reason lead and mood obey, you finish the hard tasks, avoid needless errors and turn steady action into lasting success.