How Discipline destroyed Me
I had a pretty ok life going. But because I was spending 10-16 hours sitting behind the screen every day, a taxation on my way of living was bound to happen. I had zero physical strength to support my sitting habits, so one day I managed to hurt my back bad - I got 2 cm micro tears all the way from my lower back and all the way up to my shoulder blades. I couldn’t sit, lie down, or basically do anything. Therapy slowly showed me that consistency delivers improvement, so I started to exercise daily. With better core strength, I was able to work 10-12 hours once more to help support my family. However, I didn’t get to spend any quality time with them. I was eternally unfulfilled. Through a set of random circumstances, I started practicing meditation. Slowly but surely, I was once more a witness to consistent physical and mental improvement - by being disciplined and showing up daily.
Over the course of 4 years of practice and adding additional good habits to my days, the absurdity of my old ways started to become more apparent. Some of my old habits started to die out on their own, while it’s still a struggle to shed off some of my false deep-rooted beliefs. But I’ve learnt that 10+ hour work days are counterproductive. Quality time with our loved ones is a priority. Sure, it’s tough to let go of some things that we may have hold dear in our lives at one point. However, it’s tougher to keep them alive when they’re dragging us back from getting better and being more.
So that’s how discipline destroyed me. It showed me there’s another way to live. And that the only way to move forward is to leave something behind – my old self.
Other Daily Activites that help me find more balance, ease and fulfillment:
1. Morning Journaling
2. 30 min morning Meditation (using different techniques)
3. 15-30 min high intensity Workout (30 sec intervals with 5 sec pauses in between)
4. 15-20 min evening Yoga
5. Writing Down 5 things I’m Grateful for
6. 20 min Meditation before sleep.
We may think that so much daily routine restrains growth. But it actually enables it. By consistently investing time in ourselves we get to experience more and offer more to others.
It’s about letting a better version of ourselves come out to the surface - using discipline and consistency.