Rule the Mind

A post from my previous blog back in June.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about controlling the kinds of thoughts that enter my mind…again that lovely little mantra I have pops up, “What you think is what you feel.” Then poof magically all the negative, unhealthy thoughts that were setting up camp in my mind disappear! Well not so much; actually not at all. To me its very similar to the reaction I have when someone tells me not to do something, it makes me want to do that something even more. So how do I over come this? Cognitive Behavioral Therapy? Shock Therapy perhaps?

I’m starting to think the answer to having positive thoughts radiate from my mind constantly is…drum roll please…Self-Discipline!

“Rule your mind or it will rule you.” -Horace (See they knew this even in ancient Greece).

Other greats like Aristotle and Plato seemed to have this thought control/ discipline down as well.

“We are what we repeatedly do, excellence is not an act, but a habit.”-Aristotle

“The first & best victory is to conquer self.”-Plato

Are we inspired yet? I sure am.
A mental image that comes to mind when I think about self-discipline is the movie The Last Samurai 2003 staring Tom Cruise. (For the record I am not a Tom Cruise fan and for that matter, I do not like action movies or anything closely related). So why has The Last Samurai been burnt into my brain for almost 8 years? I believe it is because this movie radiates self-discipline! Please don’t quote me because I’m saying this from memory, but somewhere near the beginning of the movie when Tom Cruise’s character arrives in the small Japanese Village he notes how “perfect everything is.” Then he goes on to say that each villager strives for perfection. Perfection in everything they do, from planting in the garden to pouring tea; everything is done to the best of ones ability. Since 2003 I have been very intrigued by this concept of striving to do everything to the best of my ability.

So repeatedly I’ll go for it! All guns blazing and everything…and I have a day or two where everything is done almost perfectly!…and then I burn myself out. This doing everything “well” is a lot of work and quite frankly exhausting. Consequently I loose motivation and give up my quest for balance, positivity and a clean well organized house etc. Well here I am; I went for it!…not so successfully. So what can I do differently?
For starters I’m going to say, “lets start smaller.” Then I’m thinking how do I cultivate a sense of Self-Discipline that Horace, Aristotle, Plato and the likes would be proud of?

Here is the plan:
 
1. Start smaller: Take on one or two tasks that I can accomplish more easily. Then grow from there.
 
2.Realize that it takes time: Therefore I’m not going to give up when I don’t get the instant gratification I love so dearly.
 
3. Sacrifice: Accept the fact that in order to have the success I want, I’ll need to wake up earlier, limit the TV. time etc. For the record since this post in June, we got rid of our cable and spend a lot more time together as a family, reading, working out and getting stuff done around the house!
 
4. Consistency: Keep with it. Find a pattern that works and attempt to do it in a similar fashion and standard as often and possible.

5.Make it a Habit: do it every day no matter what!
This quote really motivated me!
“Self-discipline is a form of freedom. Freedom from laziness and lethargy, freedom from the expectations and demands of others, freedom from weakness and fear-and doubt. Self-discipline allows a pitcher to feel his individuality, his inner strength, his talent. He is master of, rather than a slave to, his thoughts and emotions.” -H.A. Dorfman (The Mental ABCs of Pitching)

So here is to Success, Will-Power, Greatness and Change!