A Guide for cultivating Gentle Discipline

In a social media age where we are shouted at through the screen to get up at 5am to run a half marathon and ‘grind’ to make 10k a month, it is no wonder most of us struggle with being consistently disciplined. Instead of feeling as though you need to be hard core with your discipline in order to achieve your goals, it might be time to take a slower, yet more realistic approach. Let this journal guide help you create a more gentle and attainable approach to discipline so that you can achieve your goals without burning out in a few weeks. Start by writing down a goal you have been hoping to achieve for some time. What does this goal/dream mean to you? In the past, what has your approach been to discipline in your life? How effective has it been? Have a think how you want to feel when you implement a routine in your life to achieve your goals? Do you want to feel inadequate, pressured and stressed? Or, do you want to feel assured, confident and accomplished? By basing how you approach discipline on how you want to feel, you are more likely to maintain a routine that will ultimately help you achieve your goals. Write down some ways you can add some discipline in your daily/weekly routines to help achieve those goals. If getting up early to get in some practice/extra work in does not fit into your lifestyle, set aside just 30 minutes before bed to work on your goal. Approach this in a way that is more uplifting, a routine that is founded in power and not force. How long could you actually maintain this level of discipline whilst also feeling those more uplifting emotions? Make sure the idea of being more disciplined does not cause a high amount of stress or pressure to you or your life. Now write to yourself from your future self, how as this more gentle and realistic addition of discipline helped you achieve your goals? What other areas of your life have you added this approach to?