Here is why earning discipline via aiming small and consistently hitting is critical.
“Set the bar low & hit.
10 times in a row.. 100.. 1,000 times.
Don’t even consider missing.
Don’t even make ‘not doing it’ an option.
Bat 1,000.
Discipline requires proof of concept.
Cast as ton of discipline votes for yourself & watch yourself become who you want to be.”
-Ray Zingler on X
We’re just over the halfway mark of 2024.
How intensely are you reviewing, holding to, and evolving your New Years Resolutions list you wrote 7 months ago?
If you’re like most people, you probably don’t even know where the notebook or planner you wrote your resolutions in even is, much less fulfilling what you said you’d do long after the mood you originally said it in has left you.
If you are, kudos to you, that is atypical, but fantastic, nonetheless.
The reason people struggle to stick to their goals and resolutions is not because they have bad intentions.
Many people have great intentions and want to grow and evolve.
But the reason they don’t is psychological.
To improve in anything, especially something new, you have to develop the discipline required to be able to improve.
You don’t just get to say you want to lose 20 pounds or learn how to play the guitar.
Buying all the supplements, clothes, and best guitar strings, won’t do it for you either.
At least not after the first 2 weeks.
You must have proof of concept that you can do this.
How do you develop this proof of concept?
By doing what James Clear refers to as, ‘casting votes for the person you want to become’.
And this is where people go awry.
They try to cast too big of votes (actions) for themselves that aren’t sustainable to continuously cast and then eventually say to hell with it.
They key is to set the bar low and hit it.
Not one time, not 5 times, but 50 times, 100 times, 1000 times.
To do this, again, you have to set the bar low enough to make it sustainable.
I’ve found things like quick 2-5 minute daily devotionals or journals help in this regard because they are mindless to stick to and you can win 100’s of times in a row.
This (general) discipline can then be applied to any endeavor where the same rules apply.
Small action, repeat, small action, repeat, small action, repeat.
And when and only when you have proven to yourself that you have rock solid discipline (in a specific domain) should you increase volume or rigor.
Win small to win big.
