Self-discipline is fundamental for the quality of life and creativity

Written By Lucas León

At the end of 2022, I came back from a long trip through other countries losing my sensation of home, while I got very sick and the antibiotics to heal myself damaged strongly my intestinal flora, so I had to start eating to recover it from scratch, and in the same period, I broke up a relationship where I recognized my childhood wounds with anxiety crisis, so I was in a deep chaos from my body, emotions, mind and my roots. Because of that, I decided to live in the woods all the 2023 focused on healing. So I went through the mourning of those deaths, and after a long process I discovered the power of self-discipline as a way to reborn from that.

It took me 1 year, 1 month and 18 days to finish this artwork called “The Growth of Self-Discipline”, which accompanied me throughout this spiritual process of self-discipline and was enriched by it. I went detail by detail polishing this piece, just like myself. After learning a lot from the slowness of these processes, healing and celebrating that hard work, I consider self-discipline as fundamental to life. It took me to an empowerment and clarity that I had never experienced, and where I continue to discover learnings.

Therefore, I want to share some brief notes that I have compiled, about what self-discipline means to me after this experience, in case someone finds it useful or is inspired to allow themselves to start the process of being self-disciplined, I recommend it wholeheartedly, because It is available to everyone, but you have to commit for as long as it takes to achieve it.

Self-discipline as acceptance of death

There are three great limits: the vital energy of the being, time and death.

Time runs out, each second that passes disappears eternally, and what has been experienced becomes forever unrepeatable. No one can create more time or make it stop, just as no one can avoid death. Death is what gives time a scarcity value, it is what makes it the most valuable resource of existence for us, there is no other resource to exchange it or anything to replace it, and when it runs out, death comes.

Regarding death, although I bet on a disappearance without the capacity to realize that one disappears, there is no way to know until it happens, and the concrete thing is that this life is the only thing that is. What self-discipline does is take that as a basis, working to domain the limit of our energy, time and its value, and therefore, it acts from the acceptance of death. It is not only seeing time with its intrinsic value of scarcity due to death, but also, through self-discipline, its added a value of vital quality. Self-discipline use our limited energy to strategically distribute it for a quality of health, self-acceptance and deep purpose, and from there, how one can contribute vital quality of life to others.

It has to do with enforce presence not only as a duty to "be" present, it is also deciding to be present in routines of actions and situations that are really interesting. Self-discipline organizes interesting places to spend time, places chosen wisely for well-being and life purpose. In those places, presence is integrated with purpose, and not only takes the value of "being", it also makes presence meaningful.

On the other hand, self-discipline is the most real quality to materialize what you want. Leaving aside the chaos, luck, coincidence or synchronicity of something appearing out of nowhere to satisfy a need (which is a force that one cannot control), I believe that, from what one can take responsibility, self-discipline is the shortest path to satisfy the objectives that one wants, and therefore, brings the satisfaction of those desires as close as possible to the present, to try to live them before dying.

Self-discipline as a nomadic personal country

Feeling like a foreigner of my country, losing the feeling of home and not knowing my place in the world, is a loss that hurt and disoriented me a lot. That's why I thought of self-discipline as a home that I can always carry with me, for trips or wherever I decide to live. It is the constitution that builds my own country wherever I go. With that I make a base for all my activities and self-care, as well as a disposition for the transformations of my being in that new place. It does not prevent chaos, it keeps the training of the quality of my health, so that health helps to withstand the changes.

Every time I go to a different place, I don't have to analyze again why, for what or how, I just measure the new transportation times and activities times in that other place, and then its action. It is a structure that is adapt with a new mathematical calculation, no longer with a philosophical analysis.

Self-discipline is a passion

Perhaps it is not a passion at the beginning, but self-discipline can be a passion when is integrated as a way of life. There is something passionate about keep the system working, a pride in oneself that makes you feel good, you look better, you live better, and that inspires a passion to realize that its good for you. The equation here is simple, it is like finding something beautiful that you want to love, care for and see its growth. It is being passionate about your self-love and knowing that this love is worth that effort. With "worth the effort", I also mean that "the effort is worth", that is, this training increases ones value, and can increase the ego (it happened to me), I suggest to dont do this passion with arrogance. One have to stay humble, because only with humility one can continue learning and expanding this tool.

Self-discipline and anxiety

You can't do everything. Self-discipline teaches to renounce, because it makes priorities and you have to choose only what is fundamental, and unite that with the reality of how much I am capable of sustaining and doing that healthily.

When one find that rhythm, it's time to trust and respect the times in which things progress. They are done in the best possible way if they are done in the rhythm of self-discipline, because it is the fastest and healthiest time possible for oneself, another pressure to the rhythm or demand is a "no". In the situation that a very necessary emergency arises and you decide to go beyond that limit, you are aware that you are moving to the side of anxiety and/or stress, and you will have to take charge by adapting schedules for that day or other days, making hours more flexible to calm the friction.

Outside of these urgencies, self-discipline remains in trusting in one's own rhythm, not doing more because of anxiety, its about doing what corresponds to what one decided and proved to be possible and healthy. Nothing more, nothing less.

Self-discipline as emotional support

The structure of self-discipline is made to strengthen the being. It forms a network of powers and clarities to give support and health to the organic variability of mood changes, as well as falls and difficult emotional moments. Self-discipline is training to achieve goals, as well as training to inhabit the pain of life from a more resilient place, because the effort of self-discipline teaches how to relate to discomfort and pain as part of the path that one decided.

Self-discipline integrated into reality

The materialization is concrete, what is achieved is real or it is not. One can fantasize about doing many things per day, but if it is not achieved, or the charge is too much, or if an action frustrates other fields such as social or sports, or an action does not allow a proper nutrition and meals are skipped, so it doesn't really work. The system works on a personal balance that, depending on the mentality, body and available energy (which varies depending on the exercise), adjusts between challenging and resting, between effort and flow. It is a training of the integral being to take advantage with greater vigil for tasks that generates pleasure, and above all, to be able to do something beyond low emotions, laziness or fatigue. Self-discipline is a balance that becomes real, it is materialization, a measurement, it is making will a science of oneself.

Self-discipline, updates and refinements

Self-discipline requires updates, because exercising the will also becomes a habit. While exercising, the same thing can be achieved with less use of energy, and that is precisely one of its powers: the transition from effort to habit, and then to a new effort that leads to a new habit. It is a gym of the being and its will. For example, one can start with 1 CrossFit workout a week, and after a few months one could do 3 per week, and that growth will generate adjustments in a large part of the structure.

In my case, I refined the structure detail by detail until the current self-discipline that is very polished, and its refinements are not abrupt as at the beginning, but it is something that is alive, from time to time, it requires adjustments. It is a way of life that is aware to its improvement, and with a schedule map one can make adjustments faster and more effective. I recommend the XMind app for idea mapping, organizing, calendaring, and self-discipline refinements.

Self-discipline and dignity

Human dignity is about an individual who feels self-respect and values ​​himself, while at the same time being respected and valued. From that perspective, self-discipline is a way of creating dignity in the person, because by committing to oneself, through constant decisions of power, one becomes valuable, respectable and admirable. It is a dignity not intrinsic for being human, but rather a dignity as a result of training. Self-discipline creates a pride in being self-disciplined.

Prejudice of the self-disciplined artist

There is a prejudice (and romanticism) that an artist does not fit with self-discipline because it restricts his/her/they creativity. They need the space to be and flow freely, so that motivation and inspiration appear to start creating. Being self-disciplined is associated with something very square, like office or military jobs, and in relation to art, for me it is the opposite, it is making creative time sacred and creating from optimal health conditions to be capable, concentrated and willing to work. With self-discipline, the artist makes the most of his creativity. As Pablo Picasso said: "Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working."

Self-disciplined artist and artistic training for sensitivity

I think it is important to train as an artist from the perspective of self-discipline, because working with sensitivity is working with emotion, and that is a lack of control that can exalt you, throw you to the ground, obsess you, neurotize you, etc. So I think it is necessary, as a commitment to the profession, to train health aware of that variability. Not only for the benefit of the artist's quality of life, but also to use that health at the service of recognizing the sensitivities that one wishes to express in a work, and working on the self-esteem necessary to exhibit it to others.

Self-discipline, loneliness and socialization

Self-discipline is not for isolating oneself, although it increases the capacity to be alone and one can be excited by filling the days with actions for one's self-love, there is always a point where loneliness hurts and one needs to connect and nourish oneself with another. The human relation is part of self-discipline to make life mutually healthier and more enriching with others. A space for the other is essential.

Self-discipline and flexibility

Everything has its limit. A party that lasts longer can affect my sleep routine for a few days and the fatigue of some mornings, because it stresses the body at a time of action where it is usually at rest. Self-discipline is a way of looking at the wellness effects of sticking to healthy routines, compared to the effects of flexing a schedule and rearranging it for an occasion. How far to be flexible and how to take charge of the effects of flexibilities are limits and elaborations that become clearer in experience, and if they are exceeded, the cost that it entails can be foreseen, to avoid it or to prepare for the work required to return to the rhythm.

Self-discipline as self-esteem

About trust and the word:

Just as trust is fundamental in a loving relationship with another(s), it is fundamental in the relationship with oneself. That confidence in doing what one proposes also generates empowerment, it is also self-esteem in the sense of trusting one's own word. Word is not exempt of errors, flexibility and misfortunes, but self-discipline is a way to train the value and maintenance of the word. In how I commit to what I decide, and in how I commit to what I say I will do, and I do it.

This has two ways of self-esteem: what I do, I do it as training for my health, and what I say I will do, I do it as training for the value of my word. It is exercising integrity and increases self-confidence.

About uniqueness:

Self-discipline is a system designed with the uniqueness of the person, in other words, each person has a unique self-discipline. It is a system that recognizes the value of the person's unique powers and trains them for his/her/their well-being.

About the connection:

Self-Discipline is a work of self-esteem where one creates routines by selecting the things that nourish oneself and where one can feel really connected: of being, doing and sharing things that, one sincerity believe that one can create empowerment and freedom to oneself and to others. This also implies learning the self-esteem to say "no" to what cannot be connected.

Self-discipline as self-knowledge

You can see what is done and what is not done, there is no lie in that. There are points of comparison with oneself. You have a map that shows the reality of your own will. Self-discipline is a form of mirror with the past and current self. It also shows what one is in the emotional work that occurs in relation to the pain of effort, how you deal with the frustration of not achieving what you set out to do, with the discomfort of doing things when you don't feel like it, with the stress of accumulating many more things than you can handle, and how one continues the commitment beyond the emotion.

Also, there is something interesting in doing something without desire, because beyond the fact that achieving it can produce a feeling of victory, it also has a way out of oneself. It is, slowly, a ceasing to be what one was, a feeling of being more or someone different than what one thought and felt. It can be a way out of narcissism, from considering oneself "mediocre at something", becomes "capable of something." There are identity changes due to commitments made over time (such as, for example, starting to do yoga, committing to the practice, and then starting to name oneself as "yogi", or naming oneself as "healthy" due to a committed change in diet).

Self-discipline is a tool to self-knowledge, as well as a way to be unknown to oneself and to become another. It is choosing to reveal parts of what one is, and also, directions of transformation.

Difference between discipline and self-discipline

You can be disciplined without self-knowledge (which is one of the ideals of labor exploitation). Self-discipline can only be done with self-knowledge, and ideally by going through or having gone through psychological therapy.

Discipline obeys the desire of the other. Self-discipline is obeying one's own desire (with what one has achieved knowledge of one's conscious and unconscious).

Discipline comforts to obey the external mandate. Self-discipline moves towards the discomfort of autonomy.

Discipline keeps the being controlled. Self-discipline guides the being so that it transforms into its increment. Self-discipline is a tool of emancipation.

Self-discipline, atheism and anarchism

If one sets a religion as part of one's self-discipline, one is actually doing "discipline" within one's "self-discipline," because religion is about obeying another. In my view, self-discipline is sustained from an anti-religious position, because deep down, it is anarchic. Self-discipline is getting rid of everything possible from authoritarians, politicians and religious submission, because it is about creating an organization from the encounter with the power of oneself as real as possible, and operating it from one's own laws and purposes. Atheism is important so that self-discipline progress towards a self-empowering system, and that reduces obedience to institutions.

Self-discipline, addictions, health and rebellion

The more addiction, the more time and money they take from us (this is evident in social media). From that formula, self-discipline helps determine what I need, it helps to know the products and times I require to optimize my actions. If I know my purpose and what I train in my actions, I know what does not serve me or what is against my vitality. Therefore, training self-discipline is also a form of self-care to recognize what I do not need, addictions and manipulations to work on them towards a better force of self-government, which counteracts the dominance that control forces want to have over one. For example, continuing with social media, how much time is wasted on them? How much dependency do we have? How many times do we see them for no reason and lose the presence of being where we are or who we are with? How to use them more wisely so they do not intervene important moments or the experience of life itself? I am not against technology at all, but I would like to elaborate on the great responsibility we have when using it. With a system of self-discipline, you can have schedules and create strategies to use social media in a more beneficial way, to use them nutritiously, when its really necessary, you can also use an app to block social media in certain periods of time (AppBlock), and exercise attention on more important things, to avoid their addictive use, which is what turns oneself into a drug addict, unable to live without it, even if it means losing valuable time and the presence of life, leading our being to lose itself, for several hours a day and days a week in a hypnotic void on the screen. This addiction, furthermore, comes from a virtual system planned to produce drug addiction, and that which harms us, is a domain used for the benefit of others.

This force of self-government is a rebellion structured in responsibility, sovereignty and personal wisdom for the own health. In the society in which we live, working on the integral health of the being is rebellion, and one can rebel with self-discipline, purpose and training.

Combining phrases that Daniela Magalhaes, Ashtanga Yoga teacher, told me: "In a world of illusion, rebels are the most self-disciplined."

Self-discipline as existential orientation.

Whether starting with self-discipline or purpose, those commitments are going to come together in a single movement sooner or later. It is an integration that creates the existential backbone of the being. Then there is training over time. Everything that is not trained is being lost, and that same thing grows with the consistency of training. Like human relationships, powers are organic abilities, they require time to be affirmed and strengthened, they require perseverance and commitment over time for them to be formed, there are no shortcuts to that.

Self-discipline is a living tree that is nourished every day. To feed this existential column of being is to train the strength of purpose. Its about taking the most effective and necessary circuits where, over time, it will circulate mastery. Thus actions give a life oriented towards increasing the appreciation and connection of existing.

Self-discipline is one

With each decision, one becomes aware of the difficulty of maintaining it as a habit, for example, one can start just by waking up earlier every day, and the question may arise: "Why is it so difficult for me to get up at this time?", and there, the study begins. It can involve finding out about having a sleeping routine, a time to turn off the screens, seeing the best time for the last meal of the day, and thus self-discipline slowly expands like a healing virus that takes new schedules for the benefit of that decision. While this is happening, one could propose optimizing work efficiency and choosing a work schedule with the Pomodoro technique for 4 hours a day to start little by little, which could be 5 hours a day the next month, and thus continue progressing slowly to create a habits. By focusing on improving energy for those working hours, one could study a better posture for sitting at work, stretching in the middle of work sessions, one could start to exercising for 15 minutes in the morning or including oneself to crossfit group exercises, eating healthier, etc. In this way, the decision to wake up at a certain time branches out until it benefits the decision to optimize work and vice versa. A single self-discipline begins to be created, as a single great training that unites all the parts to be strengthened and all benefit from each other. Being self-disciplined entails creating a single structure that ends up integrating everything.

Some books to start the process of self-discipline

These books could be a good start, and at least, in Spanish they are free in spotify. But I recommend that you search your own way to approach to self-discipline, like conversations with friends and people who is already self-disciplinated, podcasts, youtube videos, oriental books and practices, from a soft exercise routine, nutrition, quality of sleep, doing sport, meditation or ashtanga yoga, etc. (I think that the best approach is to learn from books and writing, while you are learing specially from the body in your exercises), you can learn to be self-discipline in any way of consistent work and how do you expand that realization to the other parts of your life. Always all by and by.

Lucas León
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