Exercising is difficult at the best of times, but if you’re struggling to stay motivated it can be even harder. Procrastination, a craving for bad foods and an inability to keep up with a regular regime can all make it tricky to keep up with the fitness programme you so desperately want to stick to. Self-discipline is the key to all of these things but contrary to what many people think, willpower isn’t a fast track to gaining self-discipline. Knowing what you want is key to gaining and maintaining discipline – if you want something enough, you’ll find the emotional strength to achieve it.
Intellectual clarity revolves around the word ‘should’ – I should only eat healthy foods, I should work on this project, I should not get angry with others, and so on. But just because we understand something is the right thing to do doesn’t mean that it automatically translates to taking action on it. This is where emotional clarity comes in. It is this part of our attitude which causes us to align what we want to do with what we know we should do. The discipline you crave is actually a consequence of such an alignment.
In addition to highlighting the difference between emotional and intellectual clarity, you also need to determine what your fears are about the subject at hand. Fear is generally what stops us taking the reigns and getting on with that long overdue project, exercise regime or diet. Do you worry you won’t be good enough? That you won’t succeed? That it will be too hard? Once you know what your fear is, you will be better equipped to tackle the issue head on and maintain your sense of self-discipline. This will lead you to a healthier attitude, without ever needing to deal with your level of willpower.
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