Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Principle of Self Improvement – Discipline

Let's all think back to when we were in tenth grade and our physic teachers attempted to explain to our sleep-deprived, caffeine charged minds the principle of the Law of Inertia. Who remembers what that is? Raise your hands – yes, Lydia? “A man watching football on the couch tends to stay on the couch.” That is right. When it comes to self-improvement, it takes a lot more effort to improve than to continue on the same self-destructive path we are already on. Or at least the same path to mediocrity.
For example, every morning I wake up to the alarm ringing. It is really loud and really annoying. It bothers be a lot – but still I just lie there and listen to it. Why in the world do I not move to turn it off for several minutes? Well, a 240-pound guy in a lying position is quite a heavy thing. If we use the formula f(x)=t*2d...I'm just joking. Seriously, though, after eight hours of sleep it is incredibly hard to muster the energy to get up in the morning. Likewise, it is hard for us to start running in the mornings or start reading more books. Maybe our alarm goes off earlier so we have time to run, but lying there under our blankets we do NOT want to start – or we have the free time to start reading and becoming more literate, but we always seem to find something more “productive” to do (i.e. Watch football on the couch). Enough of this pessimism – this book is meant to inspire us to rise higher, not encourage us to pour M&M's out of a jar into our mouths while watching Richard Simons.
So who knows the second half of the Law of Inertia? Peter, you raised your hand first. “Sir! A rocket in motion continues to remain in motion until it reaches its target! Sir!” Also, correct. Once a program has been started – so long as it's followed regularly – tends to continue on until the end. The key though is to follow it every single day. It is more like momentum. After day one, it is easy to quit because we have not invested much time or effort into this exceptionally difficult task yet. If, however, we survive day one, day two is a little easier and we are less likely to quit and so on and so forth. This continues until about the first check-up (usually day seven) at which point it is very easy to quit. This “hump day” per se, is the second hardest day on the diet or self-improvement program, as demonstrated by the following graph.

Example 1: Tamara, a freshman in college got a job selling dictionaries. She is paid by the number of dictionaries she sells. The first door rejects her. Having no self-confidence she decides to quit.
Example 2: Igor, a freshman in high school gets that same job (after Tamara quit). He also is rejected – but because he perseveres, he has some success too. However, after seven days his boss calls and says Igor is in violation of child labor laws. He his fired.
Example 3: Slappy the Seal has a job to jump through a hoop, which is several feet above the water. After months of intense training, practice and hard work, he enjoys free fish every day – his favorite food while performing for hundreds of adoring fans!
As clearly demonstrated by these three examples, the “inertia” of a diet or a program is what leads to success. If Slappy had quit after the first week, he would have ended up in a tuna can. I mean, he wouldn't have been as popular and wouldn't live so much better than other seals.
In order to build up momentum we must be disciplined in two main areas, psychologically and physically, two different, albeit connected areas. As in the example of my alarm and me not wanting to get out of bed when I hear it, there are both elements involved. Primarily, however, it is a psychological battle I fight every morning. The bed is warm and the rest of the world is cold. My bed is soft, and the real world is hard. It is difficult mentally for us to start and continue a new regime. It is a lot like working out. I like being big and strong. I really like how I feel during and after a workout. It is always a good feeling, but to convince myself to lie down on that bench, grab the bar and do the first set of lifting…oh, man! It is almost impossible! Hence why I am neither big nor strong. Without mental discipline, even the easiest of programs will be ineffective, the results unachievable. This, I feel, is a primary reason why diets that promise you can eat all your favorite foods and still lose weight rarely result in success, because they increase the temptation that breaks psychological discipline. If my diet allows me to eat M&Ms, I will probably forget my daily limit and gorge myself, or I’ll give in more often at the store while checking out and buy a pack or six too many. Of course the reverse is true as well. As with many bad habits or addictions, for which there exists a certain level of psychological attachment, a cold-turkey style plan often results in failure. This is because psychological discipline has not been developed to a degree that lends itself to success. So what is an appropriate balance? I cannot tell you. Ha Ha Ha. No, really, I cannot. Nobody can – except maybe a psychologist with a minimum of a Masters degree, eight years work experience and specializing in psychological discipline. Even then, probably not. You know you better than other people do. You know what you take and what you cannot. This sounds a lot like a worn out record of a motivational speech form the early nineties – but it is true. If you do not have a lot of self-control, then obviously you need a program to help you develop self-discipline first. If you have complete self control to the point of convincing your self the sky is green – well, you can probably throw your self in head first to any diet and achieve success. Any diet or self-improvement plan that ignores individual’s personal abilities will not produce the optimal results. That is just how the cookie crumbles.
Equally important is physical discipline. Physical discipline is derived from our psychological discipline. However, physical discipline is a different beast – especially when it comes to diets. I will tell you why. If you are on a good diet, you will probably be hungry every now and then – yeah, scary, I know. You will be hungry, but it will not be time to eat. You will have to be able to ignore the physical cravings. Exercise is also similar; because your lungs will burn and your legs will ache while running. It is a depressing picture I am painting, I know, but you know what ‘they’ say, “No Pain, No Gain.” Of course, not all pain is gain (boxing, being gored by a bull, getting shot, etc…). In fact, you do not really need pain to get gain. Ok, so what ‘they’ say is definitely not true. Nevertheless, you can expect discomfort at the beginning of any physical improvement program as your body adjusts to a new style of living. The ability to discipline yourself and persevere is a key ingredient to developing the momentum to keep moving forward in your plan.

!!Note: Please remember that the goal of an exercise routine is NOT to cause pain. Overworking your muscles can result in serious damage to your body, which hinders your ability to continue to improve. Always push yourself, but only to the point just above and beyond your comfort zone!!

You may be wondering why there are all these little charts and graphs in here. It is because I just learned how to use the spreadsheet program in OpenOffice.org. It is so much fun! Sorry, I got a little distracted there. So remember, without discipline, you are doomed forever to chapter three!