“The first and best victory is to conquer self”

– Plato

By the time Babe Didrikson Zaharias was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1953, she had already won two gold medals and broken four world records at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics besides winning several women golf championships. However a harrowing surgery and colostomy bag couldn’t keep her down and soon Zacharias trained her mind and body to winning the United States Women’s Open in 1954 – within a month of her surgery!

Such inspiring stories are yet more proof of the enormous significance of self-discipline in the fields of personal and professional development today. With the restraints of religion, morality and community getting weaker each day, self-discipline has only increased in importance and urgency. Be it physical health, relationships, work or lifestyle, self-discipline is now viewed almost as a magic bullet that will destroy obstacles and lead to success.

For a life skill that is now so focused on the self, it is interesting to trace the evolution of self-discipline as actually an aid to social living. Self-discipline has been around ever since the earliest humans decided to form social groups to increase their chances of survival. In return for help and resources from the group, he agreed to hold his tongue and curb his impulse to satisfy the self. As human groups became larger and more complex, there was greater need for self-discipline so that the common good could be put ahead of individual interests. indeed modern research like that conducted by a team of psychological scientists from Queen’s University, Ontario led by Kevin Rounding,  even suggests that religious faith evolved as a way of strengthening cognitive processes like self-control.

This is hardly surprising when we see how major religions of the world accord a significant place to self-discipline – outwardly in rituals like prayers and fasting but essentially in moral precepts which govern daily life. So we have the Ten Commandments in Christianity telling us not to covet another’s wife and to stay away from the Seven Deadly Sins like gluttony and greed. Buddha’s Eight fold path is virtually built on the foundation of self-discipline as he exhorts his followers towards right view or understanding, right speech, right thought, right action, right effort, right livelihood, right mindfulness and finally, right meditation which leads to transcendence.

Even in secular philosophies, self-discipline has been a highly valued practice. The ancient Greco-Roman philosophy of Stoicism for example prescribed self-discipline in word, thought and action so that a person was neither buffeted by the winds of fortune nor of others’ opinions. Seneca exhorts us to reject the life of pleasures, Epictetus points out the virtues of thinking guided by Reason and Marcus Aurelius reminds us to do our duty each day, without complaining or bailing out. On the other side of the world, self-discipline underlines major schools Chinese philosophy as well as the practice of martial arts. Have you seen a Tai-chi instructor or a Wushu practitioner – their breath, their gaze, and each movement of each limb exudes discipline over the impulses and distractions.

In Psychology, self-discipline has been the subject of extensive research especially in the area of goal achievement and long term success. A famous study by University of Pennsylvania psychologists Angela Duckworth and Martin Seligman found that eighth graders who ranked high on self-discipline had better school attendance, got higher standardized-test scores, and were more likely to be admitted to a competitive high school program that their counterparts with lower self-discipline scores. Self-discipline, according to the researchers, turned out to be more important than IQ in predicting the students’ academic success.

And yet self-discipline continues to be understood in half-baked terms by the general populace and even by many scientific disciplines. Self-discipline is thought to be interchangeable with self-control but this opens up dangerous gaps in a holistic understanding and practice of the concept. Mahatman philosophy points out that self-discipline can never be the same as self-control. The control of an entity implies force, compulsion and negativity and Mahatman believes a powerful concept as self-discipline can never be that. Mere self-control feels like self-punishment and in extreme cases, self-flagellation. Denying the self again and again as well as restricting the natural impulses of the self can only lead to draining away of energy and depletion of  mental stamina.

Self-discipline on the other hand is a subconscious, continuing process that directs the self to the path of goal fulfilment. You can almost imagine it as laser which concentrates its energy to a point so that it is that much more powerful. And it is the Mahatman philosophy that will help you understand and practice self-discipline in these terms. When self-discipline is not imposed outwardly as a form of punishment or compulsion but directs the self from within to a particular point, like laser it is pure energy and leads to great things.

Self-discipline instead is all about self-love – sounds radical, even contrary? Let Mahatman explain – when you love yourself, you want to do what is best for it, right? When you love your body, you want to eat healthily, you want to work out regularly? And all this is possible only through self-discipline. Again when you want to graduate from college or complete that project, it is out of love for your own potential, your skills and intelligence. How can you then not practice self-discipline to attain your goals? Once you understand how deeply self-discipline is entwined with self-love, you will be able to get out of the erroneous framework of self-control which is merely self-restrictive and often self-punitive.

Now that you have a fair idea of how Mahatman understands Self-discipline, here are a few practical tips that you can incorporate into your daily life.

1. Concentrate on one habit and master it with consistency. (Like keeping your wardrobe spic and span or washing your car). This will serve as a catalyst of energy that will cascade all spheres of your life
2. Plan 50% of your day and follow it to the extreme. You will achieve much more in that 50% time and have the rest for following your hearts calling
3. Eat that Frog right away- Do not keep putting off difficult tasks. Do them first or along with other things that don’t bug you so much. Procrastination leads to loss of momentum and eventually total oblivion of the task
4. Sleep on time, wake up on time- do not change your patterns even if you are an early bird or a late riser- keep consistency
5. Delay Instant gratification – choose what must be done over what makes you happy
6. Keep fewer choices- more choices leads to waste of time and frittering energy (example number of TV channels)
7. Avoid gossip- Talk cogently; treat every conversation as a teaching-learning ritual
8. Make one great person whom you follow as your virtual buddy. Always ask what he or she would do in that situation. Emulate the answer you get.
9. Avoid over commitment, learn to say NO, be assertive , Words have magic only if you Mean what you Say
10. Never miss an opportunity to serve (like helping someone push a car that is stalled or helping a person cross the road). Never leave a call for help to someone else – comfort forward and BE that someone!

In contrast to self-control which is a limited, harsh, conscious effort, self-discipline is a subconscious, abiding and positive practice. In this sense, the driving energy behind self-discipline is willpower. And the seat of this power is the prefrontal cortex of the human brain. Evolutionary psychologists like Paul MacLean came up with the theory of the triune brain in the 1960s. According to this, the oldest part in the evolutionary history of the brain comprises of the brain stem and cortex which control breathing, heart rate, body temperature and balance – this can be is thought of as reptilian brain and. In contrast the last to evolve was the prefrontal cortex and is responsible for language, cognition and imagination. Will power is housed in this new outer brain which is why it has as yet unplumbed capacity of re-orienting your thinking to what will help you achieve true power and actualization. in this sense Will power is really the ability to say say YES to greatness and NO to just existing, along with its attendant weaknesses like temptation, laziness, excuses and passive entertainment.

Willpower is the commitment borne out of self-love to achieve the best that is possible for the self – in other words to actualize the self. Willpower again has been extensively studied by scientists and psychologists. In 2011, Stress in America survey carried out by the American Psychological Association, 27 percent of the respondents reported that lack of willpower was the most significant barrier to change. Clearly people have a fair idea about how willpower can help them lead healthier and better lives but lack the drive to put it into sustained practice.

According to some studies, one reason why self-discipline may be difficult to pursue over time is ego depletion. According to this idea, willpower is a finite resource which when exercised extensively and repeatedly may lead to mental exhaustion. While more research is needed to substantiate this idea, Mahatman calls for a comprehensive understanding of willpower. It is an all-powerful sword whose mettle is made up of grit and whose driving force is provided by volition. Persevering with toughness and hardiness is what grit makes you do while volition fires up the energy to continue on your course of action. After all it is energy that is the litmus test of all Mahatman practices, including self-discipline. If a course of action does not light up the flames of energy within you, turn away from it. Self-control and self-limitation are all acts which stamp out energy, which make us weak and passive. Instead draw deep from the Mahatman ideas of willpower and volition to ensure that your practice of self-discipline remains undeterred. Indeed the more self-discipline becomes part of your natural being, your subconscious self, the less you actively need to use will power. This is how Mahatman understands the conventional psychological notion of ego depletion too – the more you use self-discipline as an organic way of living, the less you need to draw from your reserves of will power.

Remember, we said will power is a sword and it’s a double edged one, at that. If you keep using it to meet ordinary objectives you will end up forcing yourself to do things which you don’t want to – and by choice, too. These could be something as simple as forcing yourself to turn away from that third helping of chocolate brownie or as compelling yourself on your daily run around the block. Eventually these repeated choices against your will could lead to will power turning against yourself – depleting your inner vital energy. On the other hand if you are self-disciplined, your choices will be genuinely aligned to what is good and positive for you, meaning less drawing up from the reserves of will power.  It is a powerful weapon – Keep it sharp and ready for the truly difficult goals, for barriers that are too high to surmount naturally.

Grit involves grating yourself against stones and brambles but commitment ensures that you remain focused on your task and out of these two is born self-discipline. The 10,000 hour rule perfectly illustrates this concept. Malcolm Gladwell in his bestselling book The Outliers suggests that be ready to practice any skill for 10000 hours first – around 20 hours a week for 10 years – before thinking of giving up. This is the kind of commitment that self-discipline calls forth. And this cannot be summoned by self-control which depends upon fear and punishment to be enforced, seen most commonly in military barracks. Instead self-discipline relies on inner volition and commitment – once you are deeply committed to a thought, a skill, a project – committed from the core of your heart – self-discipline will flow naturally and from within.

Great Health is the first pillar of the Mahatman that can help you practice self-discipline. Remember what the mantras Sweat and Stretch tell you do – play a sport, work out regularly and do yoga everyday so that even by small measures you are able to practice self-discipline. Practice breathing exercises like meditation and Pranayama so that you build up your inner reserves of willpower. Follow the Energize mantra to eat healthy and in limited portions and soon enough you will find it easier to practice self-discipline. Finally Smile as this disciplines your inner world of emotions and feelings – being determined to express the positivity within you allows self-discipline to grow in strength.

Great Wealth is the other pillar of Mahatman philosophy which can help you become self-disciplined. Hustle is nothing but hard work – the longer you toil at a project, the more disciplined you will be on the path to your goals. Strain is again the reiteration of the idea that pain has to be embraced. Self-discipline cannot come easy, it cannot be gifted by others or bought at the self-help market. You have to strain each cell and every atom of your being – the more you pour out your sweat, tears and even blood, the more disciplined you will feel from within

So much for how to cultivate self-discipline – but to what end and why? Self-discipline is the energy that will help you take charge of your life, your situation and your goals. It is that force which will give you to the strength to overcome barriers put up social systems and dead traditions, to shrug away offers of favors by other; only self-discipline can make you self-reliant.

Again self-discipline is the only way to win the war over your own self. How many times have you railed against your own bad habits and destructive impulses which are holding you back from achieving that greatness that you are clearly meant to do? Use the power of self-discipline to emerge victorious over your own self which will eventually lead to victory over the world at large.

Why do you worry about freedom? It is only when you confuse self-discipline with self-control that you become susceptible to the illusion that self-discipline curbs freedom. You say you wish to be able to do anything, any time and at any place but is that real freedom? The consequences of such impulse can only end up in self-harm. On the other hand, when energized by self-love, you do what is good for you, you free yourself up to achieve more, to be so much more. In all these ways, self-discipline actually creates freedom in the truest sense.

Above all, self-discipline is the foundation for the Actualize mantra. Gather your resources and skills into a core of strength which will lead you to your goals – through the path be strewn with distractions and barriers. Once you have discovered your potential and gifts, keep practicing and working so as to master them. Even the highest experiences of self-realization mean little if you do not work to polish and fine-tune your skills. For this you may have to work longer hours than others, brave the sun and snow or stand as a rock against biting winds of negativity and criticism, whether from within or without. Practically every being on this planet knows what a master orator and brilliant wit Abraham Lincoln was – but how many of us remember that he had received only one year of formal schooling in his childhood! It was his practice of self-discipline, borne out of the will to educate himself and the self-love to be the best he could, which made him seek out every way to acquire learning. Young Lincoln read books, he wrote on the margins of old newspapers, he harangued his friends to listen to his speeches and he told stories at a tavern. Little by little, bit by bit, Lincoln nurtured his skills, never wavering in face of misfortune or criticism. Eventually, his speeches during his presidency turned the tides of war and rewrote the history of a nation. In all these ways, it is only through self-discipline that you can actualize yourself inner greatness – your Mahatman. This greatness is not merely about feeling good and balanced and enlightened. The Greatness of Mahatman philosophy endows Great Power, Integration, and Energy; Energy to excel Now and be Forever. Self-discipline, borne out of will power and self-love, enables you to achieve this Greatness by conquering your inner demons as well as outer adversaries, helping you don the avatar of the Great Warrior Hero or Mahaanatman.