What is it then that makes them special? How do they have the ability to work this way, accomplish things seemingly so easily?
Believe it or not, the reality is not so complex. It's true there are people born with abnormally high levels of self control who can breeze through school, work, and every day tasks like they were eating candy. But there are many more of us who do not start out that way. Instead we build it up over time. Some of us may have special guidance from family or friends. Others are able to explore their primary interests very early. And many of us simply learned the old fashioned way - through liberal amounts of toil and labor.
Fortunately, self discipline has no special requirements. It's something we all can have. And it takes very little motivation.
In his 1960 book Psycho-Cybernetics, Dr Maxwell Maltz wrote that it takes approximately 21 days for the mind to form a new habit. During that time, our brain cells form new connections such that it becomes easier to keep doing the new task rather than to stop.
Hence the following 3 step formula can be applied to anything you want to do. Whether it be reading, writing, dieting, exercising, sports, socializing, working, etc.
- 1. Decide what you want to do (we'll use writing, for example)
- 2. Do this for only 15 minutes, then stop. (If necessary you can start shorter - 5 minutes for example)
- 3. Repeat this every day at the same time for at least 21 days. (You can gradually increase the time each day if desired)
After 21 days, the task will become an automatic habit. It may take slightly longer for some of us - just keep slowly building up your time spent on the task every day.
In this way, all of us can have enough self discipline necessary to accomplish anything we want - even if we have never done it before!
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