Video option at the end of the post.
In the ABCs of Health the letter D stands for Discipline. No, really… don’t go! It’s better, and easier, than it seems.
The good news is that you are GREAT at discipline. You are already disciplined, and your discipline is leading you somewhere.
The question is: what are you disciplined at, and where is it leading you.
Everything you want is on
the other side of consistency.
When we think of discipline in health something comes to mind – and it usually has to do with good nutrition, exercise, meditation, things like that. That’s true, but what we don’t always realize is that discipline is discipline even if it isn’t positive. Another way to look at it is habit, they are not interchangeable, but many of our habits dictate our discipline.
You have health disciplines… how you sleep, what you routinely eat, how you move your body, how you care for your mind, who you associate with, what you consume… you do things routinely, some of them are even “essential”, or you “can’t live without”.
Discipline. The discipline you have is leading you somewhere.
Let’s use sleep as an example. When a person doesn’t get enough sleep, it looks a lot like being drunk. With lack of sleep the part of our brain that houses decision making and impulse control is dulled, and also, a sleepy brain wants comfort food. When you’re extra tired you want all the simple carbs – the chips, ice cream, pizza, soda, you name it. Lack of sleep is associated with lack of sustained energy and fat gain, among other things. So one day of poor sleep won’t do much for your health, but the sustained discipline of lack of sleep will lead to a host of issues… it’s a domino effect, lack of sleep will impair your decisions, will make you eat worse foods, will make you consistently tired… etc etc.
Conversely, the discipline of getting enough sleep – having a sleep routine, having a specific sleep and wake time, etc, may reduce stress, help you make better decisions, drive you to better food choices, etc. Also a domino effect, good sleep triggers good things.
Both disciplines are leading to a destination.
Your opportunity is to look at your disciplines and see where they are leading you. Your body will reflect what you do with it and what you put into it, and this is done by your disciplines. If you feel like you are headed to a health destination that you don’t really want… well… you can change that!
Some simple disciplines that have a massive impact on your health are:
– sleep
– water intake
– moving your body
– reducing sugar
– practicing gratitude
– etc
Like we said in Letter A, it’s not about doing it all, it’s about doing the small things with consistency, being disciplined in the little things until they are second nature, and suddenly you’ve built a life that’s disciplined without feeling heavy, you’ve built the consistency for the destination you want to reach.
Keeping it simple,
Aline