In today’s post on Authentic Discipline, we are going to look at an effective approach to leading a more disciplined life…
It’s called Rule Based Living.
In the modern world that we experience today, we have umpteen choices about what we can do – from the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the places we go to, the people we can meet, etc.
With so much choice comes overwhelm. Overwhelm leads to confusion and anxiety which eventually allows our emotions to take over.
This makes us make decisions based on whims and fancies.
Here’s an example of what happens for most people…
“I didn’t plan my time wisely as I had a bunch of things to do last night. Now I don’t have fresh vegetables to cook. I also don’t know what to cook with what I have. So I will order food instead. I have too many food options and I’m feeling a bit anxious and stressed, so let me order a burger, fries and a coke”.
OR
“I was supposed to go to the gym at 7 PM. But I went to the office and worked from 9 am to 5 pm, but I got distracted in the afternoon and ended up chit chatting and using social media quite a bit. I couldn’t do what I needed to do, so I have no choice but to skip gym today because work is more of a priority”.
And so on.
Back in the day, a couple of centuries ago, people didn’t have much choice as to what they can and cannot do.
They were busy and productive, but did have ample time. Their worlds were also a lot smaller.
But they had troubles with discipline too.
That’s why they had a set of rules that they followed which were closely tied to the religion they belonged to.
Most people were religious and had a set of beliefs, customs and rituals that they constantly followed.
For example…
In India, people observed fasts on several days. The No Moon day was a day to honor the ancestors and no work was to be done on that day. Similarly, full moon day was devoted for worship, prayers (and also celebrations).
There were other days devoted to various deities and people consciously gave up food on those days, devoted themselves to several hours of meditation or charitable practices, and so on.
Amongst the Abrahamic Religions, Friday or Sunday were considered days of worship and dedicated to God and spiritual service.
There were also extended fasting periods like the Ramzan, Great Lent and so on.
There were also several other smaller fasts related to an event or a specific day of the week and so on.
On the days when you were supposed to fast, everybody in the family was simply forbidden from eating.
There was no question of choice – as to whether you can eat or not eat.
You lived by the rules. If you don’t, you’ll be admonished by either the elders in your family or the people in your community.
Likewise, if you look at all the successful people in the modern world, you’ll realize that most of them achieved success because they followed a set of rules.
We’ll have to ignore rockstars, actors and actresses who become popular by luck.
But if you look at anyone who’s achieved meaningful success with hard work, you’ll realize that they committed themselves to following a disciplined routine for long periods.
Take Arnold Schwarzanegger for example…
“I do the same exercises I did 50 years ago and they still work. I eat the same food I ate 50 years ago and it still works.”
“The only way to be a champion is by going through these forced reps and the torture and pain. That’s way I call it the torture routine. Because it’s like forced torture. Torturing my body. What helps me is to think of this pain as pleasure. Pain makes me grow. Growing is what I want. Therefore, for me pain is pleasure. And so when I am experiencing pain I’m in heaven. It’s great. People suggest this is masochistic. But they’re wrong. I like pain for a particular reason. I don’t like needle’s stuck in my arm. But I do like the pain that is necessary to be a champion.”
Arnold Schwarazengger forced himself to hit the gym and go through the pain needed to succeed. He succeeded at bodybuilding and didn’t stop there. He found success in Acting too (where many others had failed).
In life, we have 2 choices…
We can either live by our emotions or we can live by our rules.
If we live emotionally, we’ll let our emotions dictate the choices we take and those choices will ultimately decide our destiny.
Emotions are like a tide – they ebb and flow. They are not consistent. They are circumstantial, This will affect the choices we make which will eventually affect the results.
Example:
I got into an argument with my coworker and I feel bad right now. So I can’t concentrate at work… and because I can’t concentrate, I will eat some junk food. And I’ll also skip gym because I don’t feel like it.
Or alternatively…
We can set a set of non-negotiable rules for ourselves…
I’ll work all the time I work… no matter the situation.
I’ll hit the gym every single day no matter what happens. I’m a person who goes to the gym daily and therefore, I will go to the gym regardless.
I’m a healthy person and I am committed to eating healthy food at all times. I will eat healthy whether I feel like it or not.
And so on.
By living and abiding by these rules, we are likely to influence our actions, and commit disciplined actions, which will eventually lead to productive results that we want for ourselves.
So think about what rules do you want to live by in your life? Set them and start following them now.
This is Harry Ramsay, signing off from Authentic Discipline.