Do you listen to your mood, or to your mission?

Answer a few of the following questions…

• Do you workout on a planned workout day, or does it depend on how you feel?
• Do you check off your daily tasks, or does it depend on how you feel?
• Do you lie in bed all day, sleep in, watch TV, or do you do the tasks you’ve set out for yourself?

Think about those questions…

How you act and how you react to your feelings determines whether you listen to your mood or your mission, and if you listen to your mood you will not accomplish your mission.

Now, I’ve been on both sides of the spectrum…

For much of my life I’ve admittedly allowed my mood to dictate my actions, and it hasn’t ‘hurt me’ all that much because I usually have a good, driven mood. When I was driven I’d work long hours and get a ton done, which would allow those periods where I wasn’t ‘feeling it’ to not be too detrimental.

That said, how cowardly…

To think about where I could now be if I acted as I now do – actually, better than I now do – is painful.

Those many days wasted could have resulted in more books written, skills developed, and adventures had, but I let my mood dictate my actions.

For years I did that.

If I was lethargic or feeling lazy, I’d do a minimal amount of work with a maximal amount of ‘breaks’ between said work. I let feelings and moods get in the way of my mission.

And for years, I didn’t really know how to fix this weakness. I thought success and accomplishment was dependent on motivation.

It isn’t.

Motivation is a lie, it’s an emotion, and emotions don’t always tell the truth, quite often they get in the way of the truth.

The truth is what we have to do, and what we have to do shouldn’t be dissuaded by an emotion.

So, I simplified…

I focused on writing down ONE important task every day, and doing it.

It didn’t matter how I felt or what I felt like doing, or if I was sick, or if I didn’t sleep the night before, it got done.

After doing that for a while, I added another task, and now I add a usually amount of tasks – 2-4 per day – that I have to accomplish.

I’m imperfect. I still revert back to old habits every now and then, but I try not to let thoughts of any kind get in the way of what must be done.

It doesn’t matter if they’re good or bad thoughts. I’ve already thought about what I need to do. I plan my day the evening before.

So I’ve put thought into this task and why it must be done, why would I be thinking any clearer now?

So, don’t think, just do.

This has worked wonders for me.

It’s one of many tactics I talk about in my new audiobook The Lost Art of Discipline (you can pick it up HERE for only $2.95).

It doesn’t matter what the goal is, what industry you work in, what you’re trying to accomplish depends on discipline.

I lacked discipline. Yet, I wanted to accomplish a lot. The gap between where I was and where I wanted to be could only be bridged if I developed true discipline, both in how I thought and the habits I developed.

So I started studying discipline, and The Lost Art of Discipline is the culmination of years of research about what actually works and what’s just self-help mumbo jumbo.

If you really want to accomplish something great pick up The Lost Art of Discipline for only $2.95 HERE