>On Wed, 9 Jul 1997, Frederick wrote:

>> 4. Develop the discipline to do what you discover
>> works best for you.

At 01:43 PM 7/10/97 -0600, Trish Pottersmith wrote:

>Thank you for this interesting post.  IMO #4 is
>the big key.  I've got tons of knowledge about what works
>best but am lacking in the discipline department.  This
>is probably my #1 weakness/problem in life.  Can you say
>more about how you have done this for yourself?  From
>what you say you strike me as someone who is very self-
>disciplined.  Were you always like this?  I tend to
>be able to maintain a certain level of discipline for
>about 4 months and then I end up going wild in the
>other direction (raw vs. cooked, regular exercise vs.
>lethargy).  The positive side is that I do keep trying.

Yes, I'm highly self-disciplined regarding diet -- and
I have more work to do in some other areas!

One of the things I believe has greatly improved my
self-discipline is running.  I would run about 3 miles
away from home at a pace such that at the end up the
3 miles I was very tired.  Then I would "force" myself
to run back home in less time than the "away" run.  This
develops willpower -- getting into the habit of pushing
my body beyond its apparent limits.

When running up the mountain, I often run the first third
so fast that I feel I can't possibly continue.  Then I
push myself to continue as fast as I can the rest of the
way.  No matter how exhausted I am, I also push myself
to complete the final 20 or 30 yards with a finishing
burst of speed.

Another exercise to improve self-discipline is to
write a list of things to do every day and to then
*do* them.  (I used to be a great procrastinator.  I
even have several books on how to stop procrastinating.
I started reading one of them but never finished!  The
others I haven't even started reading!)

You could also take a look at things you fear doing.
For example, if you fear public speaking, join
Toastmasters and learn to overcome your fear.  The
experience of doing some things in the face of your
resistance can serve as a model for developing the
ability to generally do what you need to.

In my own case, I've developed certain practices to
the point that they've become "unbreakable habits."
It has become "unthinkable" for me to eat anything
cooked.

Regarding exercise, I've also from time to time "dropped
out" for a while.  Recently I decided that achieving
immortality is the most important issue for me.  That
elevates the importance of exercise and provides the
motivation to persist and persevere to the point that
my exercise routines become "unbreakable habits."

Regarding diet, certain social skills are useful in
preventing others from persuading you to deviate.  I
tell people I'm an "anopsophilliac" -- someone who's
allergic to cooked and prepared food, and has to eat
raw food.  This doesn't threaten anyone or imply that
there's something wrong with their diet.

In a restaurant I tell the waiter that I have a medical
condition -- I'm an anopsophilliac -- and I have to eat
raw, unprepared food -- do they mind if I eat my own
food (which I've brought along in a plastic bag or even
a cooler)?  I've done this in many restaurants in several
countries.  Nobody has ever refused.  (I've also had some
success in getting restaurants to serve me raw, unprepared
food, including raw meat.)

In general, it's important to realize that, in evolutionary
terms, human consciousness is in its infancy.  We are only
beginning to learn how to use our minds.  Compared to
the level at which most of us will use our minds in, say
50 years, most uf us currently operate at a somewhat
primitive level.  Many of us suffer from deficient thinking
skills.  For example, we sometimes take nonoptimum actions,
then afterwards we concoct irrational "reasons" as
"justifications."  (Our parents may have helped develop
this pattern by asking, "Why did you do that?" then
forcing us to give "reasons.")

Many of us have little awareness of how we go about making
decisions.  Sometimes we react like puppets on a string,
rather than making conscious, considered, calculated
responses.  For example, some people on mailing lists get
into "fights" -- sometimes acrimonious -- throwing emotions
at one another, and ending up with enmity being the only
result.

I used to fall prey to this pattern.  Now I evaluate each
message.  The first decision is whether I should ignore
or respond.  If I can't find a way of responding positively
and usefully, I ignore.  If I receive a negative message, I
look for something in the message I can positively respond
to.  I may respond to one or more parts, and just ignore
all the rest.

Developing the ability to consciously, deliberately respond
-- or not respond at all -- to situations in a calculated
manner is an important aspect of developing self-discipline.
Maybe the most important!

Death to spontaneity!

Frederick Mann