STAYING THE COURSE
We're all capable of so much more than we realise. And through an ongoing and continued program of dedicated effort, able to accomplish great feats of endurance by building mental & physical strength to attain desired goals.
Unfortunately, what we lack, is the will and determination to continue on a dedicated program to arrive at our destination. In this sense, we can say that we lack, is the commitment.
Committing to something implies that we are keeping an obligation with ourselves to complete a task. We are removing the freedom of action which we ourselves govern. We are the jailer and the jailed all in one. And that's how many of us see the roles – especially when we're restricting ourselves in some way or taking on a particularly tough challenge where there are easier ways out instead. Keeping to the plan, staying on track and doing what we've set out to do, all take strong will and a mental toughness. This we call self-discipline.
Staying Disciplined
Self-discipline is very difficult to manage because we only have to keep on top of one other entity and that is of course ourselves. Being a manager and worker embodied in one, divides us into two. Therefore, we are diminished, hence why it takes a stronger resolve. We're having to work twice as hard on both sides and this can be draining – to the point where if any other influencers enter the fray, we are already battling against our other half and so, with the additional parties having collective powers on top of that, we fail time after time. That's why we need some leverage.
When I first made the decision to get out of bed at 5am every morning, in the freezing cold, I had to find some way of committing to my January pledge and for staying the course over 365 consecutive days. I needed strength of will, self-discipline, dedication and some way of sustaining this regime over a very long period of time, where my full commitment was required every single day.
I managed to push through the first week of adjusting to chilly 5am starts and the first month was a real milestone too. But for the longer term, I accomplished this feat of completing 365 days of writing by getting more people on my side. I essentially found a way to have the weight of the world on my back! I'd pledged to contribute an insightful diary piece every day – it was there on my blog to see. By putting my daily thoughts up on the internet for all to see and judge, regardless if anybody was reading my posts, I felt that I'd be letting myself down and the whole world would be watching! There was nowhere to hide and I'd be held up for a fraud, liar and a letdown if I didn't deliver...
Maintaining Integrity
Lying to ourselves are the worst kind of lies. But we all do it and we do it a lot. Women tend to lie more apparently, but usually to protect another's feelings, whereas men tend to lie in order to boost their self-image and confidence. Sometimes they are little white lies (we don't really see our tired and ageing faces in the mirror as they are), sometimes the lies are much bigger – to protect ourselves from harm. We are mostly unconscious of these lies and the deceit runs deep.
Regular conversation pleasantries, voiced when we don't mean them, are mostly harmless and help us get about our days. They fly from our mouths without being properly considered and they are gone from people's minds in an instant. We can backtrack, alter the meaning or deceive ourselves and others about what was really said. But when we lie to other people and there's clearly documented evidence of the lie – that's when we begin to face up to the truth. Lying to ourselves in this way, really becomes apparent when we address the potential lies every single day – which is what I had to do.
Being committed to a cause, by staying the course and therefore retaining our integrity, are all character-defining traits we can strengthen through repeated practice.
