Discipline is remembering what you want

I heard this quote a few years ago and it continues to help me in my struggle for control of my life. In my efforts to be a self-disciplined person, I was looking for some wisdom on the subject, and this was just the thing I needed to hear.

External Control
As a college football player, our coaches imposed certain demands that each athlete had to adhere to. These demands, though, were for our benefit. They made us work out constantly. They made us get up and go to class. They made us maintain a proper weight. They were able to control our behavior because they controlled something we all wanted--playing time on game day.

We knew that if we failed to meet their demands of us, our coaches had the power to keep us from playing.

It is no accident that, this time period was the most structured and disciplined of my life. I was in great shape, doing well academically, and achieving athletically.

However, my discipline was not SELF-discipline, and I was essentially being controlled by someone else.

Game Over
I learned a whole lot about myself after my playing days ended. No longer having the external discipline to force me to do certain things, I found myself slipping back into some bad habits. I didn't have the coaches around to make me do certain things. I kept eating as if I were still playing ball, but I wasn't working out nearly as much as I was. Consequently, my "physique" underwent some adjustments, let's say.

It was clear to me that even though I knew the benefits of a disciplined lifestyle, the external discipline that was imposed on me externally, had not automatically taken hold internally.

So, in order to be a disciplined person, would I have to always need someone else to control my activities? (I guess that's why personal trainers, professional coaches, and "consultants" are making fortunes.)

I don't think so.

The Key to My Control
When I think back to my playing days and investigate the reasons that I behaved as I did, the reason I complied with the external demands is because I really wanted to play. If playing wasn't that important to me, I would have blown off workouts, skipped classes, etc. The reason I did A, B, and C, was simply because I really wanted D.

Now that I am in control of my behavior, I am getting better at identifying the D's in my life. But not only do I identify the things I want, I'm learning that I have to keep them in the forefront of my consciousness. Like the quote states, discipline (doing the right things on a day-to-day basis) is a function of remembering (keeping in mind) the things I really want.

The reason I eat things I shouldn't is because I forgot that I really want to be healthy and in great shape. The reason that I spent the money that I should have saved is because I forgot that I really want to be financially independent.

Very practically speaking, I've starting writing down what I really want in the two or three areas that I show the least self-discipline (typically my eating and spending habits). And when it is time to do those things (the moment of choice), I pull out my list of goals. I no longer have to be externally controlled, because I remember what it is that I really want.