How to discipline the undisciplined? 

My answer may surprise you!

You can’t!

No one is disciplined and no one is undisciplined. Is a computer disciplined or undisciplined?

A computer does what it is programmed to do and so do we. We can become inspired, but where this inspiration comes from is still a mystery and can be debated with no firm conclusion, as it comes forth from the realm of the invisible.

I spent 5 years in the Royal Marines Commando’s and people say to me “Oh, that’s where you got your discipline from!” But when I look back, I was always the way I am as regards to how disciplined I appear to be.

when I was ten years old I would jump out of bed while the rest of the house slept and go for  a run along the beach or go into the garden and roundhouse kick the banana tree a hundred times. This took no discipline, it was just what I wanted to do. School homework on the other hand was a different matter — I rarely engaged in that activity!

A father brought his daughter into my dojo once and said that he wanted her to learn discipline. I had no idea what he meant! 

Martial arts helps to focus the mind and hold concentration for longer periods. It helps one to connect and take charge of the body and break through thresholds of pain and discomfort. Maybe this can appear as discipline.

A chat show host once said to me after an interview that I should write a book on discipline. I swear that I wouldn’t know where to begin. How does one write about something that is an illusion and doesn’t exist and present it as fact? Don’t even try and answer that one otherwise we will open a whole can of worms!

It is better not to think of yourself as disciplined because then when you see the things in your life that you appear to be undisciplined about, you will beat yourself up for not being congruent with your identity of being a disciplined person — worse you shut out those things from your consciousness and be in denial of parts of yourself.

It is better not to think of yourself as undisciplined as you may sabotage your success by trying to be congruent with your identity of being undisciplined.

Have I fried your brain yet? Good!

So what should you do? If anything, look to raise your standards! Learn about yourself and how your brain works. Discover how quality questions start to equate to a quality life. “How does it get any better than this” would be a good question to start with. Continually ask yourself this multiple times a day. “How can I continually improve at ‘XYZ’ while enjoying the process at the same time?” 

The unconscious mind is more powerful than we can possible imagine and responds best to quality questions in shaping ones life. Design your life. Write down how you want it to be. Write a to be list and work out what you must do in order to be what you want to be!

With appreciation,

Matthew Armstrong

(Dragonslayer)

“Our fears are like dragons guarding our greatest treasure”