The science of self discipline - Peter Hollins Flashcards
What is discipline ? What characterizes it ?
Discipline is the willpower to resist things you desire in the short term in order to achieve long term beneficial goals. It is characterized by self-sustained habits that steadily lead you toward a goal, even when you don’t feel motivated
How is motivation complementary to discipline ?
It acts as a catalyst for setting a goal and inspiring action towards achieving that goal
What are the 2 types of motivation? Which one is more long lasting and effective?
a) Extrinsic motivation is a drive based on external reward or punishment
b) Intrinsic motivation is your drive to do what you innately enjoy or are interested in. Typically more long-lasting and effective in comparison to extrinsic motivation
How does discipline help in the achievement of long term goals?
Discipline is essential to execute the daily habits that lead to achievement of long term goals as all long term goals involve discomfort
How should you form habits with respect to the different types of motivation?
Ideally try to form habits that you’re intrinsically motivated to do. It is possible that you can develop this intrinsic motivation as well after sustained persistence in a habit that you did not have intrinsic motivation for
How is discipline like a muscle?
It can be strengthened or weakened: behaving in disciplined ways makes discipline more automatic, while giving into temptation makes self-gratifying behaviors more habitual
What is the danger with exercising discipline non-stop in a particular endeavor ?
It exhausts willpower, which is limited, resulting in the inability to apply discipline effectively to many other endeavors in life (such as diet or exercise).
How do you avoid lapses in discipline when it matters most?
You should become aware of what activities drain your energy and be more selective about how you distribute your discipline and will power.
What are some emotional tools for developing discipline?
a) Identify key motivating goals that will be achieved via disciplined practice / habits
b) Set and break down your key motivating goals appropriately
c) Deal with impulses to break your habits properly instead of fighting them
d) Remind yourself that you’re capable of maintaining discipline
e) Consider positive / negative consequences for your future self as result of maintaining / ignoring discipline
What are the 3 categories that a motivating goal needs to relate to and why are they important?
- Independence: This is a sense that you have the freedom to decide your actions. When you feel in control of your life and work, you’re motivated to be more engaged and productive.
- Excellence: This is your innate desire to improve in areas related to intrinsic motivation. When you feel motivated to get better at something, there’s practically no end to this drive because it’s impossible to be perfect at anything.
- Service: Your highest top-level goal usually produces a result that has a positive meaningful effect on society and the world in general, vs a business solely for personal profit.
Identify 4 key features of motivating goals
a) The most compelling motivating goal should relate to your life purpose and be short and easy to understand (as well as related to the categories of independence, excellence, service).
b) Realistic enough to achieve but challenging enough to motivate you. If you aim too high and don’t attain your goal, you might be discouraged and give up. However, if your goal is too easy, you’ll likely get bored with it.
c) Should have measurable checkpoints (or subgoals or tasks) whose accomplishment can be assessed objectively as part of gradual progress towards the final motivating goal. Seeing yourself achieve all these subgoals / task proves consistent positive reinforcement regarding your ability to be disciplined in achieving your goals, which provides additional motivation and helps you adjust to new behavior patterns that accommodate the habits
d) Need to be aligned with your values and also have deadlines associated with them (main goals / subgoals / tasks) to inspire urgency.
How do you set realistic long-term goals?
Reflect on your past successes and failures, and be honest with yourself about what factors led you to succeed or fail. Keeping in mind these factors, set new goals that you think are sufficiently challenging enough to push you to the limit of your capabilities
How do you set and break down your key motivating goals, and subsequently use them?
a) Create a detailed plan where you break your long-term goal into concrete, daily tasks / steps that are measurable and associate deadlines with them
b) Keep track of your progress in achieving these daily tasks.
What are the other 3 uses of a detailed plan consisting of your key motivating goals and the related tasks / goals ?
a) motivate yourself later when you see what you have managed to accomplish so far as well
b) adjust the plan accordingly if you are off track based on deadlines associated with the goals
c) assess whether your long-term goal is realistic or not within the associated time frame / deadline based on whether you are on or off track
Describe in detail how to deal constructively with impulses to break your disciplined habits?
When you have urges to violate your disciplined habits, do not suppress them but instead experience them with an awareness that they are temporary. Picture your urge as a passing storm that comes on strong and then fades away. Over time, this will break identification with your emotions and feelings, which allows them to pass more easily.
What principle is the approach of witnessing your impulses to break habits with neutral awareness instead of pushing them away based on?
It relates to the principle of intentionally not avoiding your stressors as this will in the long term reinforce your stress about those things and can even lead to new stresses
Suggest one way to think about your future self effectively?
Apply the 10-10-10 rule. This means thinking about how the decision you’re facing will affect you 10 minutes from now, 10 hours from now, and 10 days from now.
What are the 3 ways to remind yourself that you’re capable of maintaining discipline? Describe them all in detail?
a) Practice the 40% rule. This means that when you feel like you’ve reached your physical or mental limit amidst a challenge, remind yourself that you’ve only exerted about 40% of your overall capacity. Believe you have what it takes to maintain discipline—even when it gets hard—you’ll find the willpower to keep going.
b) Keep track of all the progress you have made so far in achieving your tasks / subgoals towards your final motivating goal. Review this progress and give yourself credit for all the achievement of previous steps and use that as reminder of the discipline you have maintainedsuccessfully to accomplish them.
c) Make an inventory of your strengths which you can rely on to help overcome your weaknesses. To do this, write a list of your strengths and weaknesses, then group your weaknesses with strengths that you think could compensate for them. When you encounter situations that challenge one or more of your weaknesses, try to apply one of your related strengths to the situation.
How would work with your visualizing your future self to develop discipline?
Visualize how your future self will be able to fully reap the positive habits that you sow in the present, such as sense of accomplishment, pride, relaxation and fun. Consider as well that if you lapse in your disciplined practice, how stressed out and disappointed you will feel about yourself.
Explain the 10-Minute Rule in detail
If you’re tempted by anything that causes a lapse in discipline, wait 10 minutes before giving in. This should allow the impulse to fade. When you are able to do this successfully enough many times, you’ll prove to yourself that you can resist temptations and build confidence in your ability to stick to your plan
State 5 logistical tools to help maintain discipline
1) 10-minute rule
2) Conditioning yourself to endure discomfort
3) Managing stress with breathing techniques
4) Resist perfection
5) Setting deadlines and associate urgency with them
How do you practice discipline in sticking to your decisions on goals / tasks to accomplish? Why is this important?
Once you’ve made a decision, you should put effort into whatever decision you’ve made rather than doubting or regretting it. This trains you not to second guess yourself and use excessive analyzing as another rationale for not taking action.
How do you condition yourself to endure discomfort? How does this help with discipline?
Try to slowly and gradually push yourself beyond your comfort zone by slowly and adding physically and mentally uncomfortable things to your daily routine. When you push yourself past your self-perceived level of capability, you prove to yourself that you can do more than you previously imagined. This builds your self-belief in your ability to stay disciplined and accomplish your goals.
What is perfectionism and why is it bad ?
Perfectionism is the belief that the only kind of success is perfect success, and therefore makes us afraid to try new things because of the failure to achieve this perfect success. However, waiting for the perfect conditions to chase your goal is a rationalization for inaction.
How do you overcome perfectionism ?
When you feel about 75% sure you can do something, do it.
When can perfectionism be healthy and when is it unhealthy?
Perfectionism is unhealthy when it is based on a fear of failure, feelings of inadequacy, and harsh comparisons.
Perfectionism is, however, healthy when it is oriented towards achieving personal goals as often as possible, as it helps us set high standards for ourselves and hold ourselves accountable for it.
Give 2 reasons why setting deadlines for goals tasks helps with discipline?
1) Forces us to prioritize on the most important activities to achieve for that goal / task.
2) Helps psychologically with procrastination since most activity happens near to deadlines.
What is a good way to provide a sense of urgency in achieving deadlines?
Constantly reflecting on the finiteness of your life span and the limited time you have to achieve your goals, and how much regret you would feel on your deathbed if you did not achieve them.
List 5 steps to set up the environment for the execution of disciplined habits
a) Remove temptations in physical surroundings that distract you
b) Establish boundaries when working around others
c) Reward yourself when you complete small tasks related to your overall goal
d) Surround yourself with supportive people
e) Use the Hawthorne effect
f) Find a good mentor
Why is it important to remove temptations from your surroundings that may distract you from your disciplined habit?
Because willpower to maintain discipline is limited and will eventually be depleted in the face of too many external temptations.
How do you set boundaries when you need to focus in the company of others?
a) Wearing headphones when you need to do some deep work can keep you from overhearing enticing conversations
b) Close your door if you have your own office or put up a “do not disturb” sign.
c) Communicate with family or colleagues about sections of the day when you’d like to be left undisturbed
What do you need to be careful about when you reward yourself for completing minor tasks related to your overall goal? How do you overcome this?
Rewards can also threaten to break your habits if they’re overly indulgent and involve behaviors you’re trying to avoid. Best rewards are the ones that support your disciplined habits
What are the 2 things to do with respect to surrounding yourself with supportive people?
a) Avoid being around people who slack off and indulge in unhealthy behaviors.
b) Find an accountability partner. This is someone who encourages you to maintain your discipline, who celebrates your successes, and whom you don’t want to disappoint if you slack off.
What is the Hawthorne Effect and how can you take advantage of this?
Knowing people are watching you makes you perform tasks more effectively. Some ways to implement this:
* post some of your routine tasks on social media
* if you work remotely, work at a coffee shop or a library, or with a friend who also works remotely
What is key to good accountability partnership?
Involves a commitment to each other’s success, not just your own. This means motivating each other to stay on track toward your goals, meeting regularly to check in on progress, and looking out for opportunities that may support each other’s success
What is the basic idea behind working with a mentor?
Identify and connect with someone who inspires you to be disciplined toward your goals. This is usually someone who’s already had success in the area of the goal you’re pursuing. Learn from their approach and apply what you can to your own.
How do you test whether you have good chemistry with a mentor?
Have a casual meeting where you ask them questions / problems that you would like to get their advice on, and see how they respond.
