The Neuropsychology of Self-Discipline will teach
you a seven-step process to build the power of self-discipline
and motivation into your own life. The first three steps
are motivational -- they provide you with the fire, the
drive, the emotional energy (the fourth step) to complete
your goal . The final three steps are actionable -- they
detail the things that must be done for you to succeed.
1. Create a Purpose: Define exactly what you really
want to accomplish. This gives you a cause, a reason for
making the effort. It lights a small spark inside you that
will soon begin to burn as your emotion and drive increases.
2. Find Role Models: In order to believe that you
can reach your goal, it is important for you find others
who have achieved a similar goal. These models provide you
with two key ingredients -- the belief that your goal can
be accomplished, a sense of possibility -- and a template
or plan you can follow. They've achieved it, why can't you.
This sense of possibility combined with a defined purpose
further feeds our emotional fire.
3. Sensory Vision: You can vividly see yourself
reaping the rewards of achieving your goal. The vision comes
alive. You can see, touch, smell, and feel it. you go from
"I think I can do it" to "I know I can do
it."
4. Emotion: Your vision becomes atomic in nature,
every cell of your body is charged with emotion and passion.
With this passion you are now motivated to complete action
steps four, five, and six.
5. Planning: You determine exactly what you need
to do to reach your goal and how long it will take. This
step further fuels your passion and stokes your emotional
fires by turning your vision into a concrete plan.
6. Knowledge and Skills: Once you have a plan to
reach your goal, you have to acquire the skills and knowledge
necessary to implement the plan. You must develop the confidence
that you can learn. Each time you master a skill, your confidence
in your ability to succeed increases, you get closer to
your goal, and the passion from which you draw your motivation
energy further increases.
7. Persistence and Perseverance: Persistence is
staying with your vision, seeing it through to its completion
no matter how long it takes or how difficult it is. Perseverance
is persisting in spite of physical and emotional pain, setbacks,
and hardships.
As your vision fuels your efforts and your
efforts bring you closer to your vision, you put together
a self-perpetuating spiral of vision, belief, emotion, and
effort. When this formula is followed, it will change your
life.