The Fantastic Life

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Activating Discipline

“Discipline is cheaper than regret.” – Shane Parish. Discipline doesn’t just vanish—it drifts. One off day becomes a week… then a month.  The key is having tools to snap back fast.  I follow Brian Kight and his Daily Discipline.  His blog below gives you seven ways to come back after a slip-up — and each one is simple, actionable, and powerful.  Start now. Not next week. Not when life slows down. Today.

Here are my top takeaways:

— Move Your Body: Motion creates momentum. For me, my morning routine and morning hikes in the desert clear my head and start the day with intention. If you start your day the way you want it to, then you will always have a great baseline.

— Write it Down: If it’s in your head, it’s holding space. Get it on paper. I’ve been tracking, goal setting, and writing blogs (like this one) and books (linked here) for decades — it’s how I sort ideas, gain clarity, solve problems, and stay focused.

— Win the Mornings: I’m up at 4:00 a.m. every day. I’ve watched the sunrise over 250 mornings a year for the past two decades.  That focused time is gold.

This isn’t magic. It’s discipline. And discipline starts with one step. Pick one. Start now. Then do it again tomorrow.  Let’s go!
 

 

The Fantastic Life Rule #7:
Stay Out of the Gap
  The gap between where you are now and where you want to be is crossed through discipline. You can’t falter halfway through. Stay the course and build your bridge, brick by brick. 

 

Today is the most important day of your life.
These 7 actions will immediately reconnect you to your discipline. It will not set in motion a habit of discipline that runs without your effort, but it will put you back on the path of discipline so you can take more steps. Try one, a few, or all of them.  

  1. Exercise: Every corner of science, biology, and psychology confirms that physical exercise elevates your heart rate, lowers stress, increases dopamine, and boosts brain function. Get moving!
  2. Walk: I don’t call this exercise, though technically it is. Go outside. Leave your phone at home or in your pocket on airplane mode. A 10-minute walk will reconnect you with your discipline. Get walking!
  3. Write: Grab a pen and paper, sit down, and write what is on your mind. You don’t need an agenda, structure, or plan. Just write about your thoughts, observations, feelings, dreams, plans, priorities, fears, anything. Get it out of your mind, out of your body, and onto paper. Get writing!
  4. Ask & Listen: Ask someone a genuine question and listen intently to how they answer. Do not interrupt. Do not share any of your perspectives, opinions, or stories. Ask follow-up questions to deepen your understanding. Put all your focus on this person, their situation, and their internal experience. Get listening!
  5. Go to sleep early: Leave all the devices off, climb in bed at least an hour before you usually would, shut the lights off, and call it a night. Get to sleep!
  6. Wake up early: Set an alarm an hour or two earlier than usual. It helps if you go to bed earlier, too. Get up very, very early and read, write, exercise, walk, meditate, work on a project, or sit in silent reflection. Get up!
  7. Fast: Go 24 hours consuming only water (unless you have a medical condition that prevents you from safely doing this). Feeling a little hunger, or even a lot, is a good thing. A brief one-day fast is a great way to regain control of your mind and internal power and show yourself who is in charge. Get fasting!

Want to reestablish your connection with discipline? Keep this list handy. Put it into a note on your phone.

  • Exercise
  • Walk
  • Write
  • Ask & Listen
  • Go to sleep early
  • Wake up early
  • Fast

Any of these will reconnect you and put you on the path of discipline. Try it out. Test other actions. Add others that reconnect you. Get as creative as you want.
Event + Response = Outcome. Do the work.