THE ART OF DISCIPLINE

There is an art to becoming a disciplined person and achieving your
highest
goals and visions.  Many have learned this art and have walked the
pathway
to becoming excellent in the things they do and achieve.  In this, it is
no
mystery or rocket science.



1) Set a Goal for the Knowing-and-Doing Expertise that you want.  What
is
the discipline that you want to learn?  Early in life I wanted to learn
how
to write.  At first it felt overwhelming and frightful and experiences
of
'writer's block' threatened to undermine my goal.  But I stayed with it
through the uncertainty and doubts.



2) Focus Your Attention on your Desired Discipline.  What kept me going
was
my focus on my ultimate objective.  That's why a strong compelling why
as in
"Why is it important?" informs and activates your focus and attention. 
How
strong is your focus?  How well are you able to deal with the things
that
disrupt your focus?  Are you monitoring your discipline as you are
learning
it?   What is the quality of your focus?  Do you need to use the
Neuro-Semantic "genius" or "flow" pattern to create your own optimal
state
of focus?



3) Make a Robust Decision for your Discipline.  If you have not made the
decision yet, make sure that you make a robust decision that you will
become
a discipline of that area that you want to become excellent in.  Once I
learned about modeling, I made a decision to model resilience.  I didn't
know it would take me four years to do that.  I thought maybe a month or
two.  It was my decision, and a decision that I made public, that kept
me
going.  I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it and I wanted to
demonstrate to others that I could complete the project.



4) Act today in a Proactive Way that initiates the Momentum.  If you
never
take the initiative to start, you will never get started.  So get
started
today.  Seize the day!  Use the 80/20 principle to get the most value
out of
what you do.  Given that 20% of what you do will generate 80% of the
value,
identify that 20% and then zoom in on it making it your commitment and
lifestyle.  Nearly everybody knows that the hardest part of any change
or
resolution is getting started.  We also know that the more we wait and
prepare, the more we will wait and prepare and we may never get started.
  So
get started!  Do it today.  Do it because ...

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started.  The secret of getting
started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small,
manageable
tasks, and then starting on the first one."  Mark Twain



Once you have started, then feed the momentum with effort and nurture
the
effort with sustainability, make it your life-style.  Momentum is built
by
one small step, one small push, one small action after another.  Count
every
small action.  Say to yourself, "It counts."   No matter how small and
insignificant, "It counts!  I have started.  The journey has begun."



5) Resist all Excuses.  Excuses are seductive and tempting and if you
don't
know the common excuses that will seduce you away from your discipline,
you
won't be able to mount a resistance.  What distracts you from your
discipline?  What excuses do you commonly use?  What tricks you to say,
"Well just this one time."?  Whatever it is, decide that you will not
live a
life that honors excuses more than your goals.  Decide to blow out all
excuses so that you are left excuse-less so that you just have to go
after
your desired outcomes and be true to yourself.



6) Talk up and Positively Frame Your Discipline.  What can you say to
yourself and to others about choosing to live a disciplined life?

           Discipline in my choice for how to focus and act that
achieves
the greatest success.

           Discipline is my being true to my values, choices, and
potentials.

           Discipline is the habit which allows me to manage my focus
on
what's truly important.

           Discipline is my strategic means for overcoming obstacles in
my
way.

           Discipline indicates the degree of control I can now
exercise in
my life.

           Discipline reveals my integrity; that I do what I say I will
do.



7) Update your Modal Operators.  In life experience, we get into certain
modes of operating and these operational modes show up in how we talk.
Linguistically these are called "modal operators."  The verbs describing
possibility are "can, able, possible."  The words for choice are
"choose,
decide, select, pick."  Those for desire are "want, wish, hope, yearn."
Those for necessity are "need, ought, should, must, have to."

           Use necessity words and you will feel helpless, powerless,
and
like a victim.  "I have to read."  "I should write a report."  "I must
go to
the gym."

           Use possibility words and you will feel hopeful and
optimistic.
"I can go to the gym."  "I am able to write the report."  "It's possible
for
me to eat healthy foods."

           Use desire words and you will feel capable and empowered. 
"I
want to work out."  "I yearn to run after work."

           Use choice words and you will feel hopeful and empowered. 
"I
choose to read for an hour each day."  "I have decide to finish cleaning
the
garage."



Then there is the Maslow must.  Do you know that one?  "A muscian must
make
music; a poet must write; what a person can do, he must do."  That's a
self-actualization must, it is a being-value must.  It is not the must
of
pressure, it is the must of potentiality.  Today know that one, "I must
write, I would be less of who I can be and will be if I don't write."
Finally, there is this from the Dalai Lama:

"A disciplined mind leads to happiness, and an undisciplined mind leads
to
suffering."



Video Review: Jordan Peterson's interview with Anthony Robbins

There's lots of interesting and insightful things in this interview and
there are some sad things. On the sad side is the fact that Tony
mentions
some sources (books, people), but in spite of using numerous NLP terms
and
processes never mentions NLP once.  On an interview like this, he could
help
send thousands of people to NLP, but he does not.  That's what a
self-centered guru does.



Sad also is the fact that Tony speaks about matching and pacing and he
fails
to do so throughout the nearly 2 hours!   He does not match or pace
Peterson's posture or voice or tempo.  And he interrupts a lot : and
Peterson's only defense is to pace Tony, at least to some extent!



For that, Tony needs to go back and take NLP 101 again!  See for
yourself: