As humans, values define who we are, they motivate us and guide our actions like a compass towards the person we want to become or the actions we want to take in the future.
Today I’d like to talk about the value “Discipline gives us freedom”. It is very aligned with my personal values and with who I am as a person – my life revolves around it.
To define discipline: it is the inner awareness and control over our actions and our needs. For those who think that they are born with discipline, or that it is a personality trait: in reality it is a skill that we can all gain and not an innate characteristic.
Freedom means being able to choose what is good for oneself. Freedom is what everyone wants – to be able to act and live with freedom.
So, how do these 2 connect? Well, the only way to get to a place of freedom is through discipline. For example, if you want more free time, you have to follow a more disciplined time management system, or you need to say no to things that eat up your time (like watching random Youtube videos or bingeing a series on Netflix). Many times when we want to change something about ourselves, we rely on motivation and not consistency or discipline. For example, you want to exercise more to get fit, or you want to learn a new skill, but you end up thinking of many reasons why you don’t have time.
I truly believe that consistency equals commitment. Meaning that if our goal is to eat healthier, we should make the commitment to spend half an hour each day on meal prep. This will not just help us get closer to our goal to eat healthier, but also it will help us create the habit, and be disciplined to execute a task even when we don’t feel like it.
One book that helped me clarify my goals and stick to my habits is a book from James Clear called “Atomic Habits”. In this book, James talks about the idea that goals can help us provide directions in the short-term, but a well-designed system will help us commit to the process for a longer period of time.
For example, one habit that I applied and stuck to it for the past 6 months is my morning walk routine. My initial goal was to have more energy during the day and expose myself to more sunlight which I was definitely neglecting. I created this habit by waking up 30 minutes earlier than my usual routine (to be able to have time for the walk), I put my walking clothes next to my bed from the night before (which I consider the “cue” for my brain), so I knew that each morning I was ready for the walk without any distractions or any more preparations. After 6 months of sticking to this routine, I noticed how my energy levels increased during the day, I felt more relaxed and my overall health improved too.
To conclude with, if you want the “freedom” to improve anything in your life from time management, finances or get better at something, I’d say from my personal experience that the only way to grow is through discipline and by improving yourself one day at a time. Also, don’t forget to stay present and enjoy the journey. It’s so important to enjoy what we do, we only have one life so make the most out of it!
You can watch our company values from other team members here.
Written by Lorena Fasui, Marketing Coordinator