Practice the Five Pillars for more self-discipline
by Paul Scheele
People sometimes equate discipline negatively, as if someone is cracking a whip over them. Consider the whip instead as this useful acronym, "A WHIP," from blogger Steve Pavlina, author of the book Personal Development for Smart People.
The letters of the acronym stand for Acceptance, Willpower, Hard Work, Industry, and Persistance, Pavlina explains in his blog post, "The Five Pillars of Self-Discipline."
"Self-discipline is the ability to get yourself to take action regardless of your emotional state," Pavlina said. It's a powerful tool that will help you follow through on any decision you make and empower you to overcome addiction, lose weight, learn any new skill, or achieve any goal.
Here are the five pillars from Steve Pavlina in brief.
- Acceptance: To perceive reality accurately and consciously acknowledge what you perceive. The most basic mistake people make with respect to self-discipline is a failure to accurately perceive and accept their present situation. It's important to openly accept where you are right now.
- Willpower: Your ability to set a course of action and say, "Engage!" Willpower provides an intensely powerful yet temporary boost. It burns out quickly, but if directed intelligently, it can provide the burst you need to overcome inertia and create momentum.
- Hard Work: That which challenges you. People often do what's easiest, yet it is hard work that pays off and creates long-term success. Hard work goes hand-in-hand with acceptance. Your life will reach a whole new level when you stop avoiding and fearing hard work and simply surrender to it.
- Industry: Working hard. In contrast to hard work, being industrious doesn't necessarily mean doing work that's challenging or difficult. It simply means putting in the time to carry out all your tasks, including more mundane ones. You squeeze more value out of your time, becoming more productive and efficient in everything you do.
- Persistence: The ability to maintain action regardless of your feelings. You press on even when you feel like quitting. Persistence allows you to keep taking action even when you don't feel motivated to do so, and therefore you keep accumulating results that can motivate you onward.
The Five Pillars work beautifully with my Self-Discipline Paraliminal.