The most overlooked piece to making your New Year’s resolution a reality
By: Allison Ching
Tags: New Year Resolution, Motivation, Goals, Discipline, Weight Loss

And it has nothing to do with luck, money, or talent.

Image from https://news.uchicago.edu/

We are nearing the end of 2020! Very soon, it comes the usual tradition — declarations of different resolutions for 2021. Not to sound skeptical, but I’m expecting history to repeat itself — failed resolutions. Over the years, I’ve heard countless resolutions from my peers but I saw only a handful achieving them. What happened to the rest?

They had realistic resolutions, they had clear plans, they had adequate resources, so what’s missing?

DISCIPLINE.

We should all be familiar with the term. But if I have to describe how discipline plays a role in our lives, it is not at all a pleasant metaphor.

Discipline is a mental whip that strikes you so you…

· Start doing what you should do even when inertia weighs you down

· Stay doing what you need to do even when you are tired or not in the mood

· Stop doing what is undesirable even if you enjoy doing so

Let’s use one of the top resolutions for New Year — losing weight — as an example to illustrate.

If you want to lose weight, you have to:

Start to be active. Any form of activity is good as long as it gets you in motion. Many people do not even ‘start’ as they envision a huge commitment upfront. To make it worse, for those who decide to start, many choose to start BIG. I applaud their enthusiasm in ‘going big’, but the truth is, a significant percentage of them will end up losing the momentum. Let’s face it — It is rather painful for a newbie, or anyone, to fit a regular rigorous 1–2 hour workout. The trick to starting and sustaining is to start small and simple, before moving onto something bigger. A daily 20-minute walk beats a weekly 2-hour gym.

Stay in the motion. It takes time to form a new habit or get into a new rhythm. You do not need to exercise every day, but you need to do so often enough to make it a cadence, so it will gradually be a part of your life. If you start to feel bored or uninspired, you can vary your activities, get a buddy, or look at the picture of a person whose body you dream of having. Do whatever it takes to stay in the motion.

Stop your bad habits. I cannot stress this point enough. Food plays a more important role than exercise when it comes to losing weight. If you are unable to resist soft drinks, potato chips, or brownie all at once from your diet, then reduce your intake gradually. Maybe you don’t need to have desserts for every meal. Remove 1 item at a time. To go from 10 to 0 when you are Chunk La Funk is tough. To go from 10 to 9, and 9 to 8 is definitely achievable.

Start-Stay-Stop.

Hmm… it seems perfectly doable on paper, but easier said than done! Why is something that is within our control so hard for us to control?

It’s invisible. Hence, it’s also easy to ignore. You need to give discipline a physical form. Continuing with the example of losing weight, one way to give discipline a physical form will be to record what you consume. It’s hard to change what you don’t measure. If you don’t put a number to your calorie intake and see it visually (ouch), you tend to live in denial and close an eye to what you eat. After all, how much harm could an innocent sweet looking cupcake cause? *smiles in denial*

It’s not a one-night stand. Discipline needs constant commitment. If you want to lose weight, you have to eat right and get active not once in a while, but almost every day. If you wish to learn a new language, you have to put in a certain number of hours a week to practice for a foreseeable future. Discipline, like many things that require commitment, involves a change in mindset. You need to accept discipline as part of your life and work at it. Be prepared for a long-term relationship.

It’s free. We certainly are more motivated when we pay for something. If you pay $100 an hour with no refund for an acting class, you will try your best to show up. But because discipline is free, you don’t feel that you are wasting your money when you don’t use it. Remember, if there’s something more precious than money, it’s time and opportunity. If you fail to fulfil your resolutions because of external factors, then tough luck. If you fail to fulfil them because you lack discipline, you have wasted your time and a potential opportunity to what could have been. Discipline may be free, but a lack of it will cost you.

If the best things in life are free, then…

Discipline is priceless.

Discipline is the bridge between setting resolutions and accomplishing resolutions. Have you made your resolutions for 2021? If so,

Start right now.

Stay on course.

Stop your shit.

GET CRACKING. Whop-eesh!