how to actually become disciplined in 9 minutes

Summary

In this engaging video by StickFigure Explains, viewers are introduced to the hurdles and strategies associated with cultivating discipline. It delves into the misconceptions about discipline being an inborn trait and highlights how modern life's comforts make it challenging to be disciplined. The core message is anchored in making discipline a gradual skill-building process, akin to leveling up in a video game, by starting with small tasks and commitments. The video further emphasizes the importance of understanding one's motivations and setting daily non-negotiables to train discipline progressively. Ultimately, the viewer is encouraged to foster self-love and envision a disciplined identity as a pathway to achieving long-term goals.

Highlights

• Understanding why discipline is hard is key to conquering it! 🔑
• It's all about leveling up your 'discipline skill' like in a video game! 🎮
• Identify why you want to be disciplined; it gives you direction. 🧭
• Start your day off without distractions to prevent easy pitfalls. 🚀
• Your small daily actions compound to big results over time. 📈

Key Takeaways

• Discipline isn't innate; it's a skill you build gradually. Start small! 🏗️
• Avoid comparing yourself to others; focus on personal growth. 🌱
• Turn everyday chores into discipline-building exercises. 🧹
• Self-love is key; treat future you with respect and care. ❤️
• Adopt non-negotiable tasks to keep on track steadily. 🗓️

Overview

Discipline often seems like a mysterious trait that's either present or absent in a person. However, StickFigure Explains breaks down this myth and offers a more relatable perspective: discipline is a skill. And like any skill, it requires practice, patience, and perseverance. This isn't about doing push-ups before sunrise or meditating in solitude on a mountaintop – it's day-to-day actions and habits that shape a disciplined lifestyle.

The video cleverly uses the analogy of leveling up in a video game to illustrate how discipline can be built over time. Each small, seemingly inconsequential action adds up, contributing to the growth of an individual’s ‘discipline stat’. By framing mundane tasks as opportunities for growth, viewers are invited to tackle them with a sense of purpose and strategy. This gamified approach makes discipline feel more accessible and less burdensome.

Ultimately, the pathway to becoming disciplined revolves around aligning with your future goals and aspirations. By embracing self-love and patience, you perform actions today that your future self will thank you for. The emphasis on setting non-negotiables reinforces consistency and acts as a daily practice session for building discipline. It's not about grand gestures, but rather, steady and intuitive habits that sculpt our disciplined persona.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Understanding Discipline The chapter explores the concept of discipline, contrasting common perceptions with reality. It notes that discipline is widely associated with hard work and figures like David Goggins. When people express a desire to be more disciplined, they're usually aiming for self-improvement goals such as better grades, financial success, and social status. However, the chapter highlights two major challenges: discipline is inherently difficult, preventing universal success, and relying on fleeting motivational content like TikTok videos is often ineffective for achieving true discipline.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Why Discipline is Difficult The chapter titled 'Why Discipline is Difficult' explores the challenge of maintaining discipline. It begins with an observation about how people tend to hit the snooze button on their alarms despite intentions to wake up early. The core discussion revolves around understanding the difficulty of being disciplined and why people often engage in distractions like playing video games or doom scrolling instead of working towards their goals. It prompts the reader to consider their personal motivations for wanting to be disciplined, highlighting that achieving a goal involves overcoming the struggle to engage in necessary tasks. The chapter suggests that the root of difficulty lies in the conflict between goals and desired actions.
• 01:00 - 01:30: The Role of Modern Convenience The chapter explores how modern conveniences and technological advancements have conditioned our minds to seek comfort and avoid discomfort, making discipline challenging to maintain. It highlights examples such as the ease of ordering food, the escapism offered by video games, and the superficial connections provided by the internet. These conveniences challenge our ability to pursue real progress, face challenges, and build genuine relationships. The chapter questions how one can cultivate discipline in a world designed to cater to our every whim.
• 01:30 - 02:00: Video Game Analogy for Discipline The chapter discusses the concept of discipline through the analogy of video games, particularly RPGs. In these games, players start at level zero and must level up their skills by gaining experience, much like gaining discipline in real life. Just as players need to consistently fight low-level creatures to gain experience, individuals must consistently practice discipline to improve it. The author humorously notes that unlike video games made by EA where players might pay to instantly level up, in real life, discipline must be earned.
• 02:00 - 03:00: How to Level Up Your Discipline The chapter focuses on enhancing personal discipline by framing it as a skill that improves with practice. To 'level up' your discipline, envision everyday tasks you avoid as challenges, akin to video game quests. When you experience resistance to a task, like doing homework, see it as an opportunity to strengthen your discipline—similar to defeating a goblin in a game for experience points. By consistently tackling these tasks despite resistance, you incrementally increase your discipline skill.
• 03:00 - 05:00: Building Discipline Through Small Tasks This chapter draws a parallel between developing discipline and improving at a skill like shooting basketballs. It emphasizes that discipline is not innate but is developed through consistent practice. Just as one becomes better at basketball by shooting repeatedly rather than just watching videos, discipline is built by consistently performing tasks, even when motivation is lacking. It challenges the misconception that high-performing individuals, like those who study for extended hours, are naturally disciplined, explaining instead that they have merely honed their discipline through persistent effort.
• 05:00 - 06:30: Non-Negotiables and Self-Love The chapter discusses the cultural stereotype of Asians being naturally smart and disciplined. It challenges this notion by introducing scientific aspects, particularly focusing on the anterior mid cingulate cortex (AMCC) in the brain, which plays a role in controlling willpower and discipline. The chapter suggests that discipline isn't just a genetic trait but is connected with brain functions. A study mentioned within the chapter found a correlation between the size of this brain area and obesity, hinting at the complexity of discipline and self-control as it relates to personal characteristics like body weight. This adds a layer of scientific understanding to the concept of self-discipline, suggesting it can be improved and developed rather than being a fixed attribute.
• 06:30 - 07:30: The Morning Challenge The chapter discusses the concept of AMC in the brain, highlighting that fit people tend to have larger AMCs. It suggests that one can grow their AMC similarly to how one improves discipline. To grow AMC, one must engage in activities they dislike, as simply doing enjoyable tasks won't be effective. For instance, activities distasteful like not monopolizing a gym machine for two hours can contribute to building discipline.
• 07:30 - 09:00: Visualizing Your Disciplined Self The chapter discusses the concept of gradually building discipline rather than taking on overly ambitious goals that are likely to result in failure. It uses the metaphor of maintaining a clean room as a starting point for discipline. If one struggles to keep their room tidy, it is suggested that they are not prepared to tackle larger tasks such as long study sessions or extensive runs. The idea is to cultivate small disciplines, like making the bed every morning, to build up to more challenging habits.

how to actually become disciplined in 9 minutes Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 when we think of the word discipline we either think of one or two things hard work and David gogins when people like you and me say we want to be more disciplined it usually means a few things I want to get my life together I want to get better grades I want to make more money to flex on people and I want to flex on people with my money but there are two problems first is that discipline is not easy if it was then everyone would have six packs and would be driving around with Lamborghinis and Bugattis the other problem is that we think that a random motivational Tik Tok at 3:00 a.m. in the morning is going to get us to be disciplined the next day
• 00:30 - 01:00 but we know damn well that we're hitting that snooze button as soon as that 500 a.m. alarm clock goes off that we set for ourselves so how do we actually become disciplined but before we actually know how to be disciplined we first have to understand why it's so hard to be disciplined in the first place and why we choose to play video games and doom scroll instead of getting our life together first we need to ask ourselves this one question why do you want to be disciplined well it's probably because you have a goal you want to achieve but forcing yourself to do the necessary work is a struggle for you but why is that well because every
• 01:00 - 01:30 single technological advancement in our modern society has conditioned our brain to Crave comfort and avoid any discomfort which makes being disciplined so much harder for example are you feeling hungry but got no food in your fridge well you can get McDonald's in 5 minutes with a few clicks on your phone one a feeling of progress in life but you don't want to put in the work well you have video games want the feeling of love but scared to talk to woman well you've got the incarnito tab so how do we actually become disciplined when everything seems to be a against us
• 01:30 - 02:00 including our own brain well let's go to the concept of video games as I think this will help you understand more in what I'm going to say next in some RPG video games everyone starts at level zero and there are skills you need to level up in order to get stronger and fight harder bosses in order to level up these skills you need experience this means sitting on a bums all day constantly slaying level two goblins to grind for XP discipline is much like leveling up a skill in a video game no one is born with discipline and everyone starts at level zero unless real life was made by EA and you get the option to pay $100 to unlock discipline level 100
• 02:00 - 02:30 but anyways there's actually a way you can level up your discipline in real life which is you need to face some sort of resistance and force yourself to do the work that you don't want to do every time you don't want to do something that is an opportunity to level up your discipline skill think of it as a goblin spawning and it's your chance to kill it and level up for example you get a thought that you should do homework but you don't want to do it that is the same as a goblin spawning in front of you in a video game an opportunity to level up then you force yourself to do homework gaining discipline XP which is equivalent to killing the Goblin in the
• 02:30 - 03:00 video game getting better at being disciplined is like getting better at shooting basketballs you don't get better by watching countless videos on how to shoot basketballs like how you're watching this video right now on how to be disciplined you only get better by practicing over and over again in shooting basketballs you shoot over and over and being disciplined you do the task when you don't feel like it over and over again when we see that Asian kid that's pulling 12 hours of studying every day we automatically think that he's just born with that level of discipline but in reality they've just been training and been leveling up their discipline skill longer than you have
• 03:00 - 03:30 and also having the possibility of no dinner for a week if they return home with one B on the transcript if you still think that Asians are still genetically gifted to be smart and disciplined and discipline cannot be improved well I'm going put some nerd glasses on and get a little bit sciency here there is a part in our brain called the anterior mid singulate cortex I'm calling it The amcc it essentially controls your willpower and willpower is basically a person's ability to control their own actions in order to pursue long-term goals AKA discipline I study found that obese people had smaller
• 03:30 - 04:00 AMC's in their brain and fit people had larger AMC's this means that you can actually grow your amcc so how do you grow it well it's simple just like how you level up your discipline you do things that you don't want to do but going to the gym 6 times of we 2 hours a day may feel like SEAL training for most people but if you find it enjoyable it will not grow your amcc it has to be something you hate for G it may be not hogging a machine for 2 hours straight so it's important to note that in order to grow your discipline you have has to
• 04:00 - 04:30 be things that you personally don't want to do now you may feel inclined to study for 8 hours straight and run 20 M every day at 5:00 a.m. in the morning but that's just selling yourself up for failure first look around your room did you even make your bed this morning do you have clothes laying around the floor do you have mody pizzas on your plate does your room look like a polluted river if it is then it's a sign that you're not ready for an 8 hour study session and a 20-m run you want to start with the small disciplines first if you don't have the discipline to make your bed in the morning how would you even have the discipline to study for 8 hours or run 20 mies it's like trying to fight
• 04:30 - 05:00 a level 100 boss when you're only level one the way you act in small situations will often be the way you act in bigger ones how you do anything is how you do everything small disciplines and annoying chores like doing dishes or something as simple as making your bed or even cleaning your dog's poo are actually really important and shouldn't be overlooked since these Choice happen so much throughout our day it opens up more opportunity to level up our discipline it's like having more goblins spawning to kill for XP if you make it a habit of washing dishes or cleaning your dogs every time you don't feel like it
• 05:00 - 05:30 you will consistently train your discipline over time your brain will automatically start doing tasks you usually avoid making discipline easier because you've conditioned yourself through small annoying chores this is similar to The Compound Effect where small actions accumulate to Big results now if you don't know where to start you can set yourself daily weekly non-negotiables these are minimums that you're going to do every single day for example the non-negotiables I have for myself are to work out at least four times a week and do at least 3 hours of deep work every every day I don't like
• 05:30 - 06:00 working out or scripting videos which is a part of my deep work but by setting these non-negotiables I'm constantly training my discipline and I'm I'm always moving towards my goals but you want to start small and make the non-negotiables reasonable so you can almost stick to it every day eventually when these become easy just add more to the non-negotiables some people may think that discipline is an act of pulling yourself through constant discomfort and torture for the rest of your life while it may seem like it but they can also be seen as an act of self-love if you love yourself and really truly respect yourself you wouldn't do things that are harmful for
• 06:00 - 06:30 yourself like eating that bag of chips that's made with ingredients from the periodic table or grabbing lotion and going on inconito to fry your dopamine receptors with adult content if you really loved yourself you would instead do things that your fure self can be proud of you will never regret doing the hard task but we always regret not doing it think about it when have you ever went damn I wish I didn't do my homework I wish I procrastinated instead really think about your future self having to be fat 24 hours a day is harder than exercising just for 1 hour today being broke is harder than working on your
• 06:30 - 07:00 side house for only 2 hours today being kicked out of your home because you got to be on the test is harder than just studying for an extra 2 hours today if I am faced with a hard task like scripting this video right now I would always say to myself I'll be glad that I did it at the end anyways so why not just do it right now if you know that doing the hard task will make you feel good at the end of the day then you have the perfect reason to go do it but now let's imagine your morning is like a breakfast buffet you start with a bowl of plain oatmeal it's all right a bit Bland but tastes good enough for you then you spot a
• 07:00 - 07:30 stack of pancakes drench in syrup and decide to dig in they're delicious and your taste but just wants more of it but now the oatmeal seems more bland and more boring and suddenly you can't imagine going back to the oatmeal because pancakes just taste better this scenario is a lot like starting your morning by scrolling through Tik Tok instead of tackling something hard and productive like studying or running Tik Tok is a stack of syrupy pancakes if the pancakes didn't exist you'll probably stick with the oatmeal and still find it tasty since there's nothing better to compare it to but once you've tasted the pancakes the oatmeal just t doesn't cut it anymore so it's important that we do
• 07:30 - 08:00 hard things first thing in the morning when we wake up if you scroll on Tik Tok before you study you won't want to study anymore because Tik Tok is already more fun and stimulating compared to studying that's why some people wake up so early to go for a run because running and waking up early is hard and it sucks but they know that they're setting themselves to do more hard work for the rest of the day it's like building up your tolerance for hard tasks if you can survive a hard morning run then studying would seem like a walk in the park but if somehow you still struggle with discipline I want you to go grab a piece of paper right now write down everything
• 08:00 - 08:30 the disciplined version of you would do what do they eat what does their they look like how do they act write everything you can think of and strive to be that person every day as cringe as it may sound you could even try imagine yourself as your favorite badass anime Warrior but just don't make it weird around people make discipline as a part of your identity because people act in line with the person they think they are for example Michael Jordan always thinks that he's a winner so every time he loses he will double down on his efforts and win again people think that there's some kind of Life Hack that will make
• 08:30 - 09:00 you more disciplined you could try all of these techniques but at the end of the day it just comes down to doing the things whenever you don't feel like doing it's going to suck but the suck is going to eventually pay off and your future self will thank you for it and you will look back and be proud of the work that you put in anyways I hope that this video has helped subscribe if you learn something new