When we talk about discipline, we're not talking about the kind that is used in a school classroom or corporal punishment. We're discussing the keystone habits that you enforce on yourself each day that becomes a habit, best known as self discipline.

80/20 Blueprint Defenition: " Discipline, Noun. The act of training your conscious and subconscious mind to act as one in ways that exhibit control over behavior."

Discipline isn't something you're born with. This is something that you can learn to master each day, like an exercise for your subconscious. Discipline is a campaign of self control in such a powerful way that you gain a fully disciplined mind.

I've been subject to such training and I can tell you for a fact that it works, however it's not just a constant battle to obey rules. In order to set up discipline you have to work with a few key behaviors instead of just trying to enforce obedience.

What we outline here is the key to creating a self control matrix, the very same such training that we used to help teach people our system on how to have a level of military discipline that cannot be shaken.

Excellent discipline starts with having a clear daily mission. If you're not familiar with those words, a daily mission starts not with a to-do list, but with a clear outcome of what the day should create.

We advocate for daily and weekly planning. If you're not familiar with that framework then feel free to read our other articles linked below.

We start each day with our 1 most important task that must be accomplished and clearly define why it is so important that it comes to life. By doing this you're creating a clear instruction for your day in a way that's creating meaning.

This truly is the keystone habit that discipline is formed from. When we look at what follows everything will be tied back to this habit because it puts you in control of what methods and focus you need to accomplish tasks each day.

The next layer of behavior that can be put to work is by setting yourself daily tasks to help you consciously gain control. We use daily tasks as ways to build new good habits.

An example might look like this.
1. Read 20 minutes from a non-school related book.
2. Drink 8 glasses of water.
3. Walk 6000 steps.

As you design your day we draw a box before each habit. During the day as you accomplish each new habit, you check off the box. As you do this you are rewarding yourself and creating momentum to continue accomplishing tasks.

A major reason that so many people fail in their discipline training is that they are initially taught that you must create a set of rules that are constantly making decisions on. Instead, we have been teaching how to turn those rules into non-negotiables.

Decisions mean that you have to use conscious thought and as such leaves you vulnerable to the bad behaviors you've defined. Instead by having non-negotiables, you are able to harness the subconscious and prevent behavior before it moves to the other parts of the brain.

5am Rule. When my alarm goes off I cannot hit snooze.
10 minutes early. For any appointment I must be 10 minutes early.

Remove distraction. During my deep work cycles, no social media or youtube is allowed to be active on any of my devices.

The above structure we teach is called our daily page framework. With time and practice, we know that it can help you get to the next level when it comes to discipline. That being said there is a way to accelerate the effects.

To create excellent discipline and self control, we've found that it's much easier to extrapolate out the day's framework to your why. Why is it you're doing what you're doing? What are you striving for today that creates an outcome in 20 years?

For discipline to have the power it first has to have a reason. Knowing your why and who you want to allow you to align those practices and habits so that you feel each habit taking you closer to the future that you're designing.

As a bonus for making it through the article so far, we're going to include one of the most powerful lessons to come from our discipline practice, building the gratefulness muscle.

Why is it important? When you practice working this muscle you're actually acting to train a happiness habit. We recommend taking time at the end of each day and writing three things that you're grateful for that helped you accomplish your daily mission, or gave you the ability to accomplish other tasks.

When you write these out, you're acknowledging the hard work of the day, the good discipline that you developed, and learning to reward yourself for control.

We said in the beginning that no one is born with discipline. Strict discipline is something that will grow as you do. You'll notice that with each day bad behavior will fall away and good discipline will take its place. This is something that will take time, no matter if you're a student, a parent, a teacher, or a professional. History shows that we are all discipline students working for our path forward.

We want to know how this process is going for you! let us know what you're working on and what you're getting traction on. Remember that the goal is not to punish yourself, but rather to create behavior and control toward the goals you choose. Good luck as you begin, and check back for more!

What are some examples of discipline?
Examples of discipline: successfully completing non-negotiables each day without having to make a decision. Daily expansion of knowledge in the ways you define. Creating action based on its meaning in your life.

What does discipline mean in life?
Having daily conduct, both consciously and subconsciously through actions and non-negotiables that are according to your life rules.

Why is discipline important?
Discipline is important because its the muscle used to create behavior and conduct toward our life's goals. You are training effect in your life as opposed to being subject to the influence of others.