Habits and discipline
Key topic
The basis of success lies with your ability to develop self-discipline and have good habits that push you to improve and grow as an athlete, but also as an individual and as a human being. Understanding the importance of these two elements is key to your growth and your further development.
Learning objectives
- Understand the importance of habits and self-discipline and how they work to your advantage
- Discover how these elements can help you achieve your goals
- Create conditions that will help you develop these elements
- Figure out ways you can personally develop through these elements
Habits are the basis of your life
This is probably going to be one of your coaches’ favorite lessons. Habits and discipline are elements that help athletes grow from being good to being stars. Here, we will discuss how these habits and discipline apply in real life. Notice how almost everything in your sports experience and practice can be transferred to real life. Transferable skills are extremely important and you are lucky enough to be in a world where almost everything is transferable to real life.
So far you have learned that little things matter. You know that whatever you accomplish, big or small, is made up of small steps. You know the power of acting now, in the present. You also know that failure is the greatest teacher you’ll ever have. Now it’s time to talk about habits, the simple things you do over and over again, day after day. We often take habits for granted. After all, they’re habits—something you do without thinking; it’s very easy to forget you have them.
Think about how you know when and how to do simple things on the field of play. Think how you are in a position to defend or attack; that’s too much practice of course, but part of practice is intended to develop certain things into habits; things that you almost do mechanically.
Habits have great power. In fact, your habits are what run your life. Whether the habit is good or bad, you know that to be true. A habit is simply an action that you have repeated and repeated until it does become an automated act. Your actions, repeated consistently over time, move from your conscious mind to your subconscious mind, and your subconscious mind is what really runs the show; it’s a very powerful part of your life, although you’re mostly unaware of it; you’ve learned to do certain things without thinking. In other words, you have passed control of your actions to your subconsciousness; that is in simple words the case where your actions have become habits. Habits come out of your subconscious. When you put on your shoes, you don’t think about it—you just do it. Same thing when you ride a bike or brush your teeth—it’s like you’re on automatic pilot.
That’s okay, if the habit is a good one. But what if it’s not such a good one? What if you have a bad habit that you’re not even aware of? Everyone knows about bad habits. You can fall into habits of thinking or speaking or behaving that are either positive or negative. Some people fall into smoking habits or alcohol habits or drug habits. The focus of this lesson is not on bad habits, but on what you can do to develop good habits that will help you grow.
The good news is that your habits can be changed; and they can be changed if you understand where they’re coming from. Habits are actions repeated over time—but do you remember where your actions come from?
your philosophy —> your attitudes
your attitudes —> your actions
your actions —> your life
Your habits are the result of the choices you make in the moment, which come from your thoughts, attitudes, and your philosophy—the way you see yourself and the world. So, once you’re aware of a habit that doesn’t serve you well, how do you change it or get rid of it? The first thing to remember is that trying to get rid of an unwanted habit is a little like trying not to think about a pink elephant. The more you try to tell yourself not to think about the elephant, the more you think about it! Why? When you put a lot of energy into focusing on what you don’t want to do—by talking about it, thinking about it, complaining about it, or worrying about it—you usually get more of what you don’t want.
Remember Tamecka, the girl from the foster home that went to college being afraid of what people thought of her? The more she thought about not doing well in college, the worse she did. Always remember the power of what you think about and focus on, which perhaps are the most important habits of all. Because what you focus on, good or bad, grows. So, it’s better to develop the habit of focusing on what you do want. This takes time—and it takes knowing where to focus your energy. The key to your success, to mastering your everyday habits of thought and action, is through changing your philosophy. And when you change your philosophy, you can change your habits and your life. Habits are tools that help you grow and develop as a person. Instead of serving your habits, make your habits serve you.
Action Steps Exercise 1 – (10 minutes)
- Do you have habits you’d like to change?
- What new habits would you like to start? Why?
Habits should serve you
What limits you is never circumstances or fate. The limiting factor is always you and what you hold to be true in your mind. If what you believe is positive, you’ll have positive results. The wisest choice you can ever make is to believe in your unlimited possibility. And the tool you use to do that is habit. There are two kinds of habits: those that help you grow, and those that hold you back. The first type of habit is a tool you can use to achieve success. The second type of habit makes you its slave—the habit doesn’t serve you; instead, you serve it.
Facing difficult feelings serves you well, while avoiding difficult feelings does not. By avoiding difficult feelings, it becomes harder to face them later on. Many people develop bad habits to avoid facing difficult feelings. Looking for the best in people serves you well. Expecting their worst doesn’t; looking for the positive side of every challenge can become a habit and so can finding a reason to complain; putting a piece of every paycheck into a savings account can become a habit or spending more than you earn too; finding out what you believe serves you; believing and accepting everything you read on the Internet or hear on television doesn’t serve you.
Develop good habits
Developing good habits is very crucial in your development as an athlete, but also as a person. If some of your habits are not good, it’s a good opportunity to start working towards changing these bad habits into good habits.
1. Identify the habit
Most of the time you are not conscious of your habits, good or bad, so the first step you need to take is to become aware of your habits and examine them.
2. Decide and commit to change
Unfortunately, procrastination is the nemesis of change. The longer it takes you to act, the harder it becomes to change the habit. A conscious commitment is necessary because that is the prerequisite of acting.
3. Anticipate a bumpy road
If you are unprepared for the inevitable roadblocks and obstacles, you cannot succeed. In order to develop good habits, you must be aware of what your habits are. If an unpleasant incident takes place, you have healthy mechanisms for dealing with it.
4. Come up with a plan
Think of how you will overcome a bad habit and develop a good one in its place. Try developing a list of qualities important in your life and then work on those. Focus on one quality at a time and master the habits you wish to change.
5. Use visualization
Just like in sports, visualization is a good way to include a new habit into your routine. Learning to picture yourself doing something, helps you to be more comfortable and prepared to actually do it.
6. Look for support
Let people close to you know what you’re trying to accomplish. This way they will understand your actions better and they will help you avoid from temptations.
7. Reward yourself.
One of the reasons you develop bad habits in the first place is because they make you feel good, even if it’s just temporarily. Try to mimic this experience when you develop a good habit too and see how it helps direct you towards good habits.
In taking the above steps to develop good habits, you should try to create a schedule to practice habits; to become an active thinker and doer, to allow yourself time to develop and improve while being honest and true to yourself, and to truly separate the “want” from the “need”. The wonderful benefit of developing good habits is that after doing them repeatedly, they eventually become automatic. Anything you do for a long while and consistently enough, eventually becomes a habit, and once it does, you no longer have to put much effort into it.
The art of discipline
No doubt your coaches preach and praise discipline. Team discipline, but also self-discipline, are essential in the success of your team, as you all need to learn to accept and follow the instructions, the game plan and the teaching of your coaches. In real life, you are the coach of your life; but coaches need discipline as well.
Self-discipline appears in various forms, such as determination, stamina, thinking before doing and importantly seeing what you start through. Self-discipline also means self-control and restrain; the ability to reject excesses of any kind that could lead to undesired consequences.
One of the main features of self-discipline is the skill of forgoing the urge for momentary and instant gratification, in service of something greater, even if this requires greater time and effort. Does this sound like something your coaches tell you at practice?
Discipline can be divided into two categories: internal and external. Internal discipline is your self-control and your ability to differentiate between right and wrong. Having great qualities simply is not enough; you also need the ability to manage them. External discipline depends on social norms, such as following the law.
It is fair to say that people react with discomfort to the term self-discipline, due to the fact that it is wrongly associated with unpleasant things, restricted freedom and manoeuvring space, and generally regarded as something that is tough to attain. Although it is a fact that self-discipline can be hard to develop, exercising and attaining self-discipline can also be fun and very beneficial. Self-discipline has nothing to do with not being normal, or restricting your choices and your willingness to risk and try new things. It is about unleashing your inner strength which is your most powerful ally for dealing with the challenges of daily life, let alone achieving your goals.
Self-discipline coupled with will-power, can help you handle procrastination and indecisiveness. These skills make it possible to pick a course of action and follow through with it, even if the action is unpleasant, requires effort and is harder to do than to simply not do. Moreover, self-discipline enables you to become patient, compassionate and tolerant; it also helps you resist negative peer pressure and external influences. A disciplined individual is more punctual and devotes more effort in what they do. They are also more likely to take control of their lives, set goals and actually chase them.
Discipline is very important because it brings stability and order into one’s life. It teaches responsibility and respect. Well-founded rules are the compass of society. Without discipline, people would just go on doing whatever they wanted and they would make mistakes without weighing in the impact that their actions have on others. Discipline promotes good human behavior to a better society and makes the world a more enjoyable place for all of us. The ability for an individual to have self-discipline allows them to behave in a consistently controlled manner.
In order to encourage self-discipline, you should consider following the steps:
- Accept that it’s your responsibility to obtain and practice self-discipline
- Set your boundaries, the point not to be negotiated, the red line
- Commit to the process and the concept of self-discipline
- Develop a routine and list down your accomplishments
- Figure out which are your favorite excuses and avoid them
- Give yourself time to engage in the process willingly and mindfully
Remember that everything is about habits and if you decide to incorporate some habits in the process, you will find it a lot easier to develop self-discipline. Here are three helpful habits that can improve your self-discipline:
1. Speech habits
Governing your tongue is governing yourself. If you blurt out something without thinking, it’s a sign that self-discipline is foreign to you. You need to get a grip over your self-talk as well. This will make it easier to manage your speech patterns when interacting with others, but it will also become a significant tool to control your mind.
2. Mindset habits
Your language affects your way of thinking. Your self-talk shapes your beliefs and philosophies. Learn how to think differently; if your beliefs are lousy, your self-discipline is loose. Replacing your beliefs and reshaping your mindset can be a challenging process because we aren’t used to changing our way of thinking.
3. Bodily habits
A lot of times, lack of discipline comes from giving up to simple temptations: to sleep in, to indulge with sweet or greasy or salty snacks, to calm down doing something supposedly relaxing such as watching TV and so on. If you learn how to limit those temptations, you will improve in other areas, like time management or studying.
Action Steps – Exercise 2 (10-minute video + 2-minute discussion)
Watch this video
- Have a discussion in class about the contents of the video they have just watched.
Lesson wrap-up
Today’s lesson was about the importance of habits and discipline as well as the relationship between the two. Habits and discipline properly understood and managed can help you become a better athlete and a better human being.
At this point we will wrap up today’s lesson. First, we will go over the learning objectives of this lesson and we want your feedback as to whether they have been achieved and then we will address any questions you may have. Please feel free to ask anything you’d like in relation to today’s lesson and we would love to hear how the concepts we discussed today relate to you and your life!