As I go about this world, I often come across people that astonish me with their sustained discipline.

There are a couple people at my gym who are always there, every time I go. They, of course, look amazing.

A few mentors that I follow online astonish me with the amount of great writing and videos they do consistently every week.

My wife astonishes me too.

If something is on Amanda’s, calendar, it gets done. Period.

It’s one of the things I love most about her. She is tenacious about completing things she has committed to doing. She is dependable. And I don’t know where I would be without her.

I’m wired a bit different than Amanda. She often remarks about how I’m so disciplined in my work habits, but it’s clear that I often struggle in areas where she excels.

I believe we all have areas in our lives where we desire to do better or have more discipline. It could be in how we eat, drink, sleep, remember names, exercise, practice a skill, perform at work, the list goes on.

I want to share a trick that I learned.

Yesterday I wrote about how it’s proven to be helpful in life to stop running so we can see the right path ahead.

Many of you responded.

One such response was from Karolyn Plehal. She suggested a great trick to becoming more disciplined and/or overcoming a personal hang up you are struggling with:

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Hi Mike, 
I always get something from your messages and I really appreciate your efforts. A sentence in today’s message (Why is it so hard to just STOP doing things?) reminded me of a tool that I have found to be amazingly effective (and I forget to use). A friend, Scout Wilkins, is a life coach extraordinaire who developed this little video about changing the question. Here is a link to the video:

 
Thanks for the nudge to change my questions.

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I watched the video, and I loved the advice.

To summarize, in areas of our life we would like to be more consistent or more disciplined, instead of asking yourself, “Why do I struggle to do this?” just change up your question to, “Why is it so easy?”

For example:

Instead of asking, “Why is it so hard to get myself to the gym?”
you simply reverse the question to be,

“Why is it so easy to get myself to the gym?”
“Why is it so easy to remember names?”
“Why is it so easy to write every day?”

It seems simple, maybe even kind of cheesy. But as Scout Wilkins demonstrates in the video, something happens in your brain.

You are essentially playing a trick on your brain and the normal habitual inclinations that inhibit you from going to the gym, or remembering names, or writing as much as you like, begin to melt away.

Definitely worth trying. Set a reminder on your phone, by your bed, or someplace you can be reminded to ask yourself a simple question.

Becoming more disciplined in areas you seek may be “easier” than you think.

Thanks for the suggestion, Karolyn!

** Do you have a suggestion or idea you want to share?

Until next time, have an awesome day.

Mike Turner

Co-Founder: Impact Club Boise
Host: Idaho Speakeasy
Collaborator: Value Drive Approach
Founder: Front Street Brokers
Author: Agent Entrepreneurs
Voice: 208-340-8399