self discipline. "How can i discipline myself?"

Sometimes when people seek an instant fix in medicine, a similar result can be achieved with self discipline.

For example, I have currently been diagnosed with depression and ADD.

Ways I can discipline myself to help depression :

1. fix days and nights - I have been staying up all night and sleeping all day. It is a reason why I am low on energy. it also is a reason why I alienate myself and become lonely.

2. Eat three meals a day on time - Since I slept odd hours, I often missed meals and ate at odd times. getting up, staying up all day, and eating all three meals on time would greatly increase mood and energy.

3. Exercise - cardio and pushups for now.

Things to address ADD :

1. Discipline self to keep smartphone and computer use to a minimum. I get sucked in so deep that I lose touch with reality and have no chance for hobbies.

2. Watch less TV and read more books. Reading a book helps slow things down, you have to focus on one individual task.

Well, give it a shot. You will be surprised with the results. Make a list of ways you could discipline yourself to enhance mood and quality of your day.

the hardest part is starting the day, so if you spend a little time each night deciding on the first four things to do the next day, you should be able to overcome this hurdle.

good luck!

study some mathematics. It forces you be exact, complete and it is either right or wrong, leaving you no wiggle room to bullshit yourself with excuses about how its right/good enough/etc.

soundsystem00 said:

1. fix days and nights - I have been staying up all night and sleeping all day. It is a reason why I am low on energy. it also is a reason why I alienate myself and become lonely.

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Good luck man! A lot of the stuff you mentioned are things I'm currently trying to work on in my life as well. I've definitely been exercising a lot more, which is also forcing me to eat more and eat more routinely. Also I've noticed I've been turning the TV on less and trying to read more. I noticed I get depressed if I don't get any physical or mental stimulation and reading has been helping with the mental aspect. The one I quoted above is the thing that I seem to absolutely terrible at. I've had more of a night schedule the last few years, but this past year I sort of just gave up. I've got one job now and since it's at a banquet hall most of the hours are late at night. I haven't had a routine schedule since I graduated high school 7.5 years ago!

It'd be a little easier if I were living by myself because then at least I would be able to make more noise at night. Since it's at that time that I'm most awake, it's the time that I'd most likely to do things, vacuuming my room for example. However, using the vacuum at 2am when others are sleeping is a pretty dick move any way you look at it.

Your list is actually extremely similar to mine (I love making lists! ). The only other thing I'm currently focusing on that's in the same vain is trying to clean and organize my room, my basement, and my car. Having these areas be clean and organized would be much more beneficial than the clutter-hole it currently is.

rangrz said:

study some mathematics. It forces you be exact, complete and it is either right or wrong, leaving you no wiggle room to bullshit yourself with excuses about how its right/good enough/etc.

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I wrote something about this on a thread in the dark side not too long ago, but the Rosicrucians used to believe that mentally computing complex math problems was a way to increase psychic energy. Anyway you want to view it exercising your brain is just as important as exercising your body.

I have always had trouble with eating unhealthy foods, especially when I'm in a pinch for time and on the way out the door. If there's a bag of doritos on the counter (I live with my parents) and a bunch of bananas, I'm just more apt to grabbing the doritos, even though I know it's bad for me. Stinking taste buds!

However, I'm currently still in the transition from eating mostly junk food (recent job change means I have much less time to cook) to being more compact about the way I prepare my food, so the times that I am able to cook leaves me with more food longer.

Discipline:

1. Cook on days off: cooking rice and beans ahead of time, then keeping them in the fridge and adding frozen vegetables when I go to heat them up.

2. Eating a nice, large breakfast to keep me satisfied throughout the first half of my day.

3. If I don't have time to cook, I bring a nuts-and-dried-fruits mixture to snack on in between appointments.

When I follow these for my day, I find I have more energy and can do my job better.

I woke up at 5:30 this morning. I was kind of tired, but I had a massive cup of coffee and it helped so much! I'm definitely going to make it all day.

Carl - Awesome post bro. I am adding this to my list.

4. Stay organized - I have a lot going on at once, so things get messy fast. This is going to be KEY when I go back to school next semester.

Simply Live, awesome list. I am so impressed.

Keep it coming people!

What a great post, Sound! I still struggle with self-discipline even when it helps my life so much and in such obvious ways that I am amazed that it takes so much work. My biggest problem lies with my work. If I don't plan classes way ahead of time, I end up creating so much more work for myself not to mention the stress of feeling unprepared. This year I have been forcing myself to plan in large blocks so that I am more efficient and it makes my life so much easier.

I don't watch TV but I have found that I am not immune to screen addiction by noticing the increasing time I spend on BL!
I like L2R's idea of writing down four things to accomplish the night before. When I have tried to write my intentions out the day of, I find I get distracted with whatever is already happening when I wake up. Damn ADD! (Actually, I feel very affectionate towards my old ADD brain--it's given me lots of gifts in the creativity department so on balance, I can't complain.)

ADD has DEFINITELY given me things!

my earlier suggestion came from my older brother who has add (i probably do too, but i've managed mine somewhat successfuly). another of his recommendations is to buy a whiteboard. write down stuff that needs to be done and cross/check them off as you do. the visual aid of the board helps you stay focused and shows your progress too.

as for my own thoughts, the trick to prioritising is simply:
- Some tasks take clear precedence over others, do them first
- If they aren't clear, this is where writers block and other sticking points can be, but by the sheer fact of their equality, it really does not matter which is chosen first. pick the one nearest to you, or toss a coin if you must.

one major benefit to add is hyperfocusing. if you can control it, it's amazing what you can achieve. i'm hyperfocusing pretty much every day these last few years. I've had to to be able to manage: work full time in a head intensive job; full time university study; and learning mandarin (among many other things, like purchasing our first place, having our first kid, household stuff, staying fit, teaching myself bass and ukulele and on and on).

A good rule one can rely on is that if one can keep a routine for over a month it become a habit.

After about 6 months the habit becomes an addiction. Addiction is not always a bad thing. You could say one will not be the same without continuing this ritual.

For example: Eating habits.

After a month of clean eating I became accustomed to it. After 6 months, I feel mentally different if I do not eat clean, healthy food.

L2R--wow! You got me at learning mandarin on top of full-time work and student and then you throw in new fatherhood? My hat is off to you, sir!:D

thanks! just 9 more months to finish this 3 year degree without a single day's break. i won't know what to do with myself once i'm done!

next week, my mandarin skills will come to the crunch. i fly to china on sunday.

1 week with days straight.

I was worried because I stayed up really late Friday night but..

I woke up at 10am on my own. That NEVER happens. I am stoked.

I went to bed before midnight last night.

I woke up at 7:30 this morning and had a cup of coffee and took a shower.

I feel really good. I am focused, and my mind is not as foggy as it sometimes feels. Breathing feels good, which is a sign of good health for me.





This is great.

good for you!

I think it mostly comes down to patience. It's very easy to get mentally overwhelmed with thoughts. We all know how that is, we start thinking of one thing, eventually bouncing back and forth between thoughts only to realize how little we are accomplishing. I find a few minutes a day of silence and nature goes a long way. When I wake up in the morning, I like to open my window, even if it's winter, and look around. Breathe in the fresh air, smell the frost approaching, see what life around you is doing.

Stretching helps too. Stretching in the morning along with a few minutes of silence really helps me start my day with a more positive attitude.

self control..?

this may not be the best place for this but il go ahead anyway!

so i have noticed that i simply have no self control when it comes to my drug use and its beginning to get to me. Im less happy as a person because i cant trust myself to "get high" in moderation.

I use ecstasy quite regularly (on a weekly basis for the past 6 months) and i wish i could limit it to monthly at least.

I used to smoke cannabis on a daily basis but not its only weekly (most of the time).

I also use lsd sometimes but i dont see that as much of a problem as it can be difficult for me to get therefore i only take it monthly or sometimes even less.

for the past few years I cant remember the last weekend i havnt been drunk also which is quite worrying.

im not asking for any sort of counselling but i thought i should let you guys know my current situation because you might have some advice to share that could benefit me or help me to have some self control.

any stories you are willing to share would also be good!

There really isn't much that any one of us can say to you. Many of us, including myself, have been in your position before. The way that I got past it was realizing how much negative things in my life happened because of drug usage or excessive drug usage. One day I was like, "I'm going to do something about it." I quit using drugs on any regular basis and I still struggle with it because I still haven't quit smoking cigs. You are the only one that has control of our life. It's a lot of responsibility but if you don't take that responsibility, then you'll die a life full of regrets.

Hi headfuck123... I'm going to merge your thread with another existing thread on the front page of HL so we can keep similar topics together..


Self control is a slippery slope to climb. I have issues with it myself, in many areas of life. My best advice is to take it one day at a time, instead of making "rules" for yourself, just make small changes that can turn into habits. Sometimes it has to be all or nothing for awhile, until you can put things into perspective.