cf. thoughts

How Discipline Can Set You Free People either love or hate the word "discipline". If you hate it, it's probably because you know there are plenty of ways you could and should improve your life situation, but you haven't (yet) implemented them. You may resent people who have succeeded in applying some common sense life tips because you feel like a failure in comparison. If you love the word "discipline", you too see that there are many ways to improve, and you are eager to learn and start applying some fruitful tactics in your own life. My goal in today's post is to encourage the haters to become lovers, and the lovers to become haters. Wait... Cornerstones of Discipline First, let's start with what discipline is. Discipline essentially boils down to doing the things we ought to do, regardless of our immediate feelings toward them. Health Everyone already knows the foundations of how to live a healthy and happy life, but sometimes we deceive ours...

Most of us think we are fully aware of ourselves and our surroundings. "How could I live if I weren't aware?" some may ask. In all likelihood, much of our lives are on autopilot, and worst of all, most of our thoughts are, too. One of the easiest illustrations of not being aware is to remember the last time you drove on a long stretch of highway. If you don't drive, think about the last time you stared out of a car window. The white lines and endless asphalt whiz by around you and effectively hypnotize you  into a state of unconsciousness. When I say "unconsciousness", I don't mean being asleep or sedated, I mean that the mind is not aware of its own thoughts. Reactions become automatic, and persistent thoughts, often negative, run amok uncontested. Road rage can flare, sometimes even in people that are normally calm and composed. Trying to remember what happened in the last 20 minutes, all you can think of is the road and maybe a vehicle you've be...