Namaste’!
Friday, March 30th was the big 640 million dollar Arizona Mega Million drawing. Reportedly, three people had all the numbers and will share the mega-prize. Of course, that means there are almost a billion people (around a billion tickets were sold) who have to snap back to a more demanding reality. Then again, even winning a half-billion dollars can be demanding. Life is challenging and that makes Self-Imposed Discipline very important. Some traditions teach that the individual is a wretched creature, born in sin, and helpless in the face of life’s challenges. Other traditions teach that the Creator gives to each individual the means to do much for him or her self in this world. Still others say that the individual must never set a limitation on what they can achieve. Successful living is in the striving! Regardless of which perspective is your own, Self-Imposed Discipline will have value in your life. Everyone has something that they would like to change. There are attitudes or behaviors that you want to stop because they no longer serve your best interest. There are also attitudes or behaviors that you want to incorporate into your everyday way of living and being in the world. Change is occurring all of the time but self-mandated change is another creature (so to speak). Lets take a deeper look at Self-Imposed Discipline and its connection to Self-Mandated Change.
Self-Imposed Discipline
Self-Imposed implies that the task, circumstance, experience, or condition is a choice of the individual and is not levied by an external force. Much of what you will accomplish in this life will come about because of your ability to impose discipline on yourself. Without this ability you are totally dependent on other people to move you towards growth and change.
Self-Discipline
Self-Discipline is the ability to control one’s feelings and overcome one’s weaknesses. It is also the ability to pursue what one thinks is right despite temptations to abandon it. Notice that there are two distinct but related aspects to Self-Discipline. On the one hand it involves the ability to overcome that which we deem necessary to leave behind. On the other hand it involves the ability to strive to achieve something that we have deemed necessary to our growth and progress.
Think about it for a moment! Isn’t there something that you want to leave behind? It could be anything! It could be a habit of thinking or an attitude that causes you unnecessary problems in your relations with others. It could a habit of behavior like not getting enough sleep, oversleeping, being late for important obligations, drinking too much, smoking, or eating poorly. It could be a tendency to exaggerate or to lie. You know better what challenge burdens you the most. Maybe you have been trying to deal with it for years and still it haunts you. Here is your chance to confront it again!
Self-Restraint
The first aspect of Self-Discipline is Self-Restraint. Self-Restraint is restraint, control, restriction, limitation, curtailment, rein, prudence, and discretion imposed on you, by you, for you. It is self-restraint that is necessary to extinguish the old and unproductive aspects of your life and to make room for the new and productive changes that you want to put into place.
Whenever we strive to break an old habit we create an empty space in our lives. This is the reason that many people fail at Self-Mandated Change. They think that will-power and denial or abstinence will suffice for them to bring about lasting change. Not so! There is another important aspect of Self-Discipline that must be exercised simultaneously with Self-restraint in order to succeed at Self-Mandated Change. Isn't there something that you want to do? Spend more time reading, writing, singing, dancing, exercising, or with your family; or maybe you want to master some Kung Fu or Qigong technique that really fascinates you. Maybe your positive thing to do is to set aside time everyday to meditate on gratitude, or to help out a local non-profit. What is it that will light your fire once again so you can feel your groove?
Self-Motivation
Self-Discipline must embrace both Self-Restraint and Self-Motivation. You are Self-Motivated when you are motivated or moved to do or achieve something because of your own enthusiasm and interest. You are animated to act without needing pressure from others, and in fact, will act even without the encouragement of others. You can only be self-motivated and enthusiastic if you have a genuine interest in something. When you act to impose Self-Restraint (and therefore create a void) you must also be Self-Motivated to do something that will fill the void with positive thoughts, feelings, neuro-chemistry, personal rewards, and recognizable benefits. Of course, I recommend Qigong or other activities that actually change your body-mind chemistry releasing powerful bio-chemicals of pleasure, euphoria, relaxation, clarity, and calm.
A Twenty-One Day Challenge
It is always good to have a support system working with you as you strive to achieve Self-Mandate Change. Not that anyone will be watching or monitoring you. No one will even know what it is that you are trying to change. That can stay your secret! But just the idea that other people are also going through the same process can strengthen your own discipline. I was taught that a habit could be broken or put in place in twenty-one days. Lets put that to the test. Let me invite you to join other readers of my Blog in a Twenty-One Day Challenge of Self-Mandated Change. It is completely up to you what you choose to exercise Self-Restraint over. And it is completely up to you what you choose to fill the void. Pick something that feels important and doable. As long as the end result is a better you in some way then you will be able to mark this challenge a success in twenty-one days. As we say at the beginning and end of all of our classes, our intention is to feel healthier, stronger, better, and wiser as you progress through the twenty one days and complete the challenge. I’ve put a brief survey in the right hand column of this Post. Just check yes if you plan to participate in the challenge that will begin on the morning of April 8th and last until the evening of April 28th. In next month’s Post we will survey again to see how many of you experienced success with your Self-Mandated Change. I hope you will share this Post with your friends and invite them to participate in the challenge. Lets have some fun and share in the joy of each others success.
Live Wu-Te
Seifu Sharif
Saturday, March 31, 2012
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