Every once in a while I’ll get the itch to play the guitar again. I’ll start by learning an easy song, play it until my wife wants to punch me, then abandon it. It happens every time.
I knew each time was going to be different. Then it wasn’t. Months later the guitar is gathering dust, again.
Why is this?
I listened to a podcast called 10X talk with Joe Polish and Dan Sullivan a while back and Dan said something that shocked me. He said discipline is a bunch of garbage.
To Mr. Sullivan, you can be disciplined but you don’t just get it at the store. It’s a description of someone that has formed desirable habits.
Whether you are a runner, writer, or worker, we all struggle from time to time. If you find yourself in the place of perpetual failure consider this. You don’t need to be disciplined. You need new habits.
Starting a new habit or kicking an old one can be extremely difficult. Here are three ways to help you make them stick.
- Journal daily progress. Make it simple. This doesn’t have to take you an hour.
- Ask a friend to be your kind drill sergeant and keep you accountable.
- Do it (whatever you want to form good habits for) with someone.
Kick discipline to the curb. Replace it with new habits.
PART-TIME NOVEL 
Robert –
The link doesn’t work! Did you take the post down or send the email too early? I am intrigued by the teaser; I, too, am guilty of buying guitars and giving up in frustration.
~rob
From: PART-TIME NOVEL To: wordpress@thewrittenrob.com Sent: Thursday, January 7, 2016 4:19 AM Subject: [New post] Why You Don’t Need To Be Disciplined This Year #yiv3799152607 a:hover {color:red;}#yiv3799152607 a {text-decoration:none;color:#0088cc;}#yiv3799152607 a.yiv3799152607primaryactionlink:link, #yiv3799152607 a.yiv3799152607primaryactionlink:visited {background-color:#2585B2;color:#fff;}#yiv3799152607 a.yiv3799152607primaryactionlink:hover, #yiv3799152607 a.yiv3799152607primaryactionlink:active {background-color:#11729E;color:#fff;}#yiv3799152607 WordPress.com | Robert Evenhouse posted: “Every once in a while I’ll get the itch to play the guitar again. I’ll start by learning an easy song, play it until my wife wants to punch me, then abandon it. It happens every time.I knew each time was going to be different. Then it wasn’t. Months l” | |
Sorry Rob that was strange! It was moved to drafts probably been there all day! Thanks for the heads up! Should be good now.
How very true. Habit is what keeps you going when everything else falls away. Just I think my habits keep hiding under the sofa! I’ve poked them with a broom in a hopes they will come out… 🙂
PS: I can completely relate to the guitar tale you mentioned… relate to your wife that is! My partner is a guitarist and listening to him learning new songs can drive me up the wall. Thankfully he has his own room for that.. with two doors to keep me from hearing the repetition. 🙂
Keep poking away! It’s a good thing writing is what I’ve been focusing on so my wife gets a bit of a break this year :).
On Sun, Jan 17, 2016 at 2:03 PM, PART-TIME NOVEL wrote:
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