Ask HN: How do you cultivate discipline?

First let's define discipline. I will define it as 1. Choosing to take a desired action despite feeling like doing otherwise and 2. Refraining from taking an undesired action despite feeling like doing otherwise.

Having a goal around your actions is somewhat implied here.

So what can help us cultivate discipline? Well, each time you practice discipline you are cultivating it. So what can help us practice it?

1. Mindfulness; whether through meditation or other practices, practicing mindfulness can help you gain some distance from your thoughts and feelings and make a more reasoned choice to act towards your goals.

2. Environment; setting things up to make taking action easier (e.g. putting you shoes by your bed if you want to go running), or making things harder to do (throwing out all your junk food, not shopping when hungry)

3. Having compassion for yourself. You will never achieve perfect discipline. Realizing that you will screw up, especially in the beginning, and having compassion for yourself when you do (as you might have towards a friend who is struggling) makes it more likely that you will continue to cultivate discipline.

There is a good podcast that covers a lot of this that I think is well worth a listen. Don't let the title of it dissuade you; it is much more than just about depression and procrastination:http://www.myownworstenemy.org/podcast/why-procrastination-m...

Make it a habit, ignore your emotional responses, and do the hardest things first.

Example: I've been going to the gym for a few years now. I don't have the best consistency for going, since I normally go after work hours. I found that by the time I was done with work I was tired and feeling burnt out from the day, and it was easy to skip going. I started making myself go first thing in the morning by waking up an hour early than normal and so far its working.

This is bizarre, but a simple algorithm works for me. Whenever I am exhausted and don't feel up to tackling another task, or whenever I'm afraid to approach a daunting project, I remember the inspiring words of my high school baseball coach. He'd say this partially in jest but partially seriously:

"Hey! Stop being a lazy piece of ...!"

When I tell myself that a task has world-class difficulty, and that accomplishing it would be an amazing feat, the task becomes highly daunting, and I procrastinate more. However, when I tell myself that the task should be done as a matter of course but that I'm being too stupidly lazy to accomplish it, the task becomes less daunting, and I procrastinate less. Expectations of normalcy change.

A similar effect occurs when you join a world class team and suddenly learn that they're doing ten tasks in a day that you once considered remarkable to finish in a week. Expectations of normalcy change, and big tasks seem far less daunting, so you procrastinate less.

Discipline is cultivated over time, and for me it is all about consistency. When I want to develop a new habit, I commit to doing it every day. The hardest part is just getting started The amount of time I spend on that task doesn't matter as much as starting the task does. One minute is better than zero. Over time, the time spent increases, and it becomes second nature for me to perform it.

gcheong's comment about environment is also spot on. Make it easier for yourself to stay disciplined. Reduce the amount of willpower/effort that it will take to start a task.

Inspiring podcast on Cultivating Disciple by Jocko:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tE8kE8IfiY

https://www.reddit.com/r/getdisciplined/comments/5tln7k/meth...

Ask of others what you expect from yourself and be transparent about it. If your not a hypocrite, people will see the sincerity and either rise to the occasion or get out of your way.

An interesting animated video on disciple:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPn3UOt1lxw

You might find this book interesting, it covers some of the research. Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance: Angela Duckworth

3 (or so) big concerted attempts. So try fuck up try again etc.

That's what got me in the habit of budgeting/expense tracking and quitting caffeine.

Maybe it's like becoming good at anything. A lot of practice, reminders, knowledge, coaching, feedback, patience, etc.

cultivate where, if you want to cultivate discipline in your team, you should start by cultivating trust first, which goes both ways, your employees need to know you'll always have their back... next step is lead by example...