In my own research I’ve always been amazed at the lack of crossover when it comes to self-discipline. I used to assume that people who are self disciplined in one area of their life would be more likely to exhibit self discipline in other areas as well. Surprisingly, I have not found this to be the case.

I know a lot of people who are able to discipline themselves in specific areas, while showing a complete lack of discipline and others. My instinct is, that on some deep level people tend to feel that self-discipline is a sacrifice. They are usually aware of all the benefits but still deep down, it feels like a sacrifice.

Too much perceived sacrifice may even encourage overindulgence, like some kind of emotional counter balance. This is an interesting note on human behavior because self-discipline inevitably brings benefits and the benefits are viewed as positive results. Evidently the efforts required to obtain those results can be viewed as painful.

I often encourage people to set simultaneous goals in two different areas of their lives. I would have said unrelated areas but in reality everything is related. It seems that by making progress in two different areas at the same time the pattern of self-discipline is ingrained at a faster pace. The analogy of a muscle definitely has some application here. Exercising can seem difficult at first, even painful. However once it produces good results even the pain of an intense workout can be viewed as pleasurable because it leads to the intended result.

P.S. Adam, Good job on your own self discipline, a weekend off is a good thing.

For instance, if you want to be a successful blogger, you have to think like a successful blogger, and if you want to get fit, you have to think like a fit person.

That begs the question, what is my own mindset? What type of person am I thinking like?

What would my ideal mindset be, and how does that mindset differ from my current one?