Self-discipline is all about self-control—putting yourself in situations that challenge your self-control, and then overcoming them. This can work, but often is unnecessary as you look to first get started with a habit. Rather than relying on self-discipline, why not take a lesson from the science of motivation: set yourself up for success. Find the inspiration to consistently go to the gym, stick to a diet program, wake up early, or even study at a certain time—and you’ll be more successful in achieving those goals. While self-discipline may seem like the ideal approach to losing weight and exercising, it doesn’t always work. That’s because in the long term, willpower can become depleted once a certain threshold has been reached. Self-transcendence relies on inspiration and that comes from within, which means you don’t run into the issue of your willpower being depleted. So, ultimately we want to move beyond just self discipline and move into the place of self-transcendence.
I strongly agree that being inspired is a stronger backing resource for self-discipline than discipline itself. Motivation can be inspirational for many reasons and situations. However, the bottom line here is that you should never rely on self discipline to get you through because there are things in life which are more important than just letting yourself be self disciplined. The nice thing about self transcendence because on your “return home” trip back to Earth you will gain some valuable insight about yourself along the way. On your journey to find other like-minded individuals that want to be growth seekers, make sure you can are able to communicate the value you received in your life, as a result of having focused on self transcendence not just self discipline.
