#48. Discipline: Your Path to Freedom in Every Aspect of Life!

Episode Transcription

Dr Marisa Lee Naismith 00:02

It’s Marissa Lee here. And I’m so excited to be sharing today’s solo round episode with you. Whether you’re a member of the voice community, or beyond your voice is your unique gift. And my mission, which has been inspired by my own personal and professional journey is to empower you to share your gift with others. Now is the time for you to discover your voice in life, develop a positive mindset, and become the best and most authentic version of yourself to create greater impact. Ultimately, you can take charge, and you can become the director of your own life. It’s time for you to live your best life. It’s time now, for a voice and beyond. So, without further ado, let’s go to today’s episode.

Dr Marisa Lee Naismith 01:10

Everybody wants freedom. Let’s face it, whether we want financial freedom, we want more free time, we want freedom to follow our dreams, we want freedom for what ever it is, I hate to tell you, there is a price to pay for freedom. And the only way to get to that place of freedom is through discipline. So while discipline and freedom seem as though they live on opposite sides of the spectrum, they are in fact very connected. Okay, let’s look at financial freedom. If you want financial freedom, you have to have financial discipline. If you want more free time, you have to be more disciplined when it comes to time management. That makes total sense. And this idea of discipline equating to freedom applies to every aspect of life. So if you want more freedom, you have to have more discipline, the less discipline, the less freedom. And that is the real message. If you want to transform your life in a positive way, that transformation is not going to happen by itself, it’s in your hands, you’re the only one that can make this happen. You’re the only one who can put in the work. You’re the one that needs to put in the hours, the days, the weeks, the months and the years, you need to get on the path and stay on that very path, the path that is going to lead you to positive outcomes. It’s your path to freedom. And you can only get there through discipline.

Dr Marisa Lee Naismith 03:12

Okay, let’s do a check in on your discipline levels, let’s say on a scale of one to 10 with 10 being absolutely so amazingly disciplined that you almost have no life to a one, which is where you live your life in complete and utter chaos. How disciplined Are you? Where do you rate on this scale? Do you follow through on all the promises you make to yourself and to others and to your aspirations? And if you’ve answered no, then you may very well be one of those people who needs to get more discipline in their lives. It’s hard. But if you’re looking to take control of your life and make different choices, you may have to get beyond your comfort zone.

Dr Marisa Lee Naismith 04:10

I’m feeling your pain here. And I know it’s not easy. I consider myself to be extremely disciplined. And I tell you, it takes a lot of work. It doesn’t happen magically. And at times it does come at a price because part of the journey is that you also have to have the discipline to say no to the very things that you love doing. I’ve learned that if I give in or if I give up on what I want to accomplish. I’m only letting myself down. I feel like a total loser. That’s what motivates me to stay disciplined. It’s about keeping your eyes on the prize. In this episode we’re going to talk about What it takes to be disciplined. And if you want to be consistent and be committed, we’re going to talk about some of my personal strategies you can execute to become more disciplined and gain the willpower to live a happier and more fulfilling life of freedom.

Dr Marisa Lee Naismith 05:28

You must eliminate temptations and distractions. Yep, you heard me, people with a higher degree of discipline, spend way less time indulging in behaviours and activities that don’t align with their values or their goals. They don’t let impulses or distractions dictate their choices. They are the architects of their own lives, and stay focused on what they need to do to achieve a desired outcome. And this takes discipline. Let’s face it. Everyone loves technology, and our lives are overwhelmed with technology. But at what cost? Please, I’m not an anti technology person here. I don’t think technology hurts in business or in life as long as it’s used when necessary. And this means getting offered and not allowing it to distract you. So stop checking your phone every three seconds, it’s not necessary. I’ve had to learn this lesson. I admit that I text message and email friends and colleagues to save time. And there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s quick, and I can do it at a time that suits me. However, it does become a problem if I’m working on a particular task. And I have to stay task orientated to get the job done. So if I’m in the middle of creating content for this podcast, for example, and I’m in that creative flow, I have to be really disciplined, stay focused and ignore phone calls, texts, emails, social media and all technology. Otherwise, instead of staying true to what I need to focus on, it becomes about everybody else. So I have my phone on silent and I don’t check it. I must admit, though, where I absolutely lacked discipline is in returning people’s calls or responding to text messages or emails. Sometimes it can take me days because I don’t enjoy doing this at all. My message here is, you can set yourself up for success by ditching all those distractions and temptations. Let’s take this a step further. If you’re someone who wants to eat healthier, you need to throw out all the junk food in your house. Hmm. If you want to drink less, you need to stop buying alcohol. Like the saying goes out of sight out of mind. It may seem silly, but this phrase offers powerful advice. If you happen to stumble, learn from your mistakes and forgive yourself. Don’t get wrapped up in guilt, anger or frustration because these emotions will only drag you down further. The keys, keep going, prioritise and execute Did you

Dr Marisa Lee Naismith 09:01

know that your mornings set the tone for your entire day, your mornings can impact on your mood, your happiness, and your focus? You see, most people wake up and they hurry off to work. But a successful day starts with the morning routine. And as we start each day of fresh, we can focus better. We know where we need to prioritise our time and ultimately, we can increase our productivity. That’s why all the highly successful business leaders such as Sir Richard Branson and Bill Gates have crafted morning rituals that help them to maximise their energy, productivity and creativity all day long. Let me ask you, how do you start your day? Do you wake up to the sound of your alarm ball airing at you How annoying is that alarm? That’s why it’s called an alarm because waking up to that sound is so alarming. Or do you ease into your day with a morning regime of meditation, some gentle exercise, journaling and setting goals for what you plan to do for that day. If you go through your day, flying by the seat of your pants, there’s a good chance you will be distracted, and you’ll find yourself consumed with other people’s stress and drama, and you won’t achieve what’s important to you. I’m a huge advocate for having a morning routine. It’s so important to me, as I feel that I’m starting every day with clear intention and create structure and gives me purpose. This does take discipline. And for me, that means that I have to wake up two hours prior to leaving the house in order to incorporate my morning ritual. And I’m not a morning person, I can assure you, I start my day with a meditation practice. And I do this as soon as I wake up. Usually I spend 10 to 15 minutes calming my mind with a guided meditation. And this is just long enough for me to wipe the slate clean from the previous day. It helps me remove all the residual stress and any emotional baggage that I’m carrying through overnight and into the next day. If you don’t meditate, and you think this is too woowoo for you, then simply ease into your day by doing something relaxing like reading, or gardening or quietly reflecting on the day ahead. The next thing I do is move, it’s important to do something physical, and I like to plank for six minutes. Again, this takes a lot of discipline, but I love it because it gets my blood pumping. Motion is lotion. And for me it helps get rid of any niggles exercise also has real psychological benefits. And that too will help you get through your day. Then I love to write in my gratitude journal because it helps me shift my focus onto all things positive. No matter what is going on in my life, it is so important to reflect on those things I’m truly grateful for. We can get stuck in such a negative mindset. But we have so many things that can shift our mindset. And if you don’t know what you have to be grateful for, think of your family, your friends, the sound of the rain, the warmth of the sunshine, something kind someone did for you. Sometimes, I do have to dig really deep, but I always find so much to be grateful for in my life. If you don’t have a morning regime, now is the time to set one up and set one up that works for you. Whatever you do, keep it simple and easy to follow. And to give each new element you bring into your mornings a fair go. Don’t just throw the towel in. I can assure you your days will thank you for it

Dr Marisa Lee Naismith 13:49

if you’re not disciplined on a consistent basis, it could well be it’s because you don’t know what you want. So don’t beat yourself up. It’s not because you’re lazy. How can you be disciplined if you don’t have a clear vision of what you want to accomplish? And a clear plan outlining each step you need to get there. After all, if you don’t know where you’re heading, it’s so easy to lose your way and start heading through life aimlessly. You must have clarity. We all need clarity. We need to ask ourselves, What am I after here? What’s my goal? We must also understand what it’s going to feel like when we do achieve that goal. We need to ask ourselves when I see it, and I experienced it. This is how amazing it’s going to feel unless we can see it feel sense and that knowledge intellectually what the outcome is we’re after We won’t have the discipline it’s going to take to get there. Most successful people do use this technique to stay on track. It helps them to connect emotionally to their mission and establishes a clear finish line. You just need to make a decision about what it is that you want. And it doesn’t have to be your ultimate grand purpose for your life. Not at all. It can be what you want to do by next Friday, or by the end of the month. Keep it short term, you can start small. If you’re really confused about the next five years of your life, just start with the next five weeks of your life. This is what clarity is built upon. People don’t understand this. You seldom have an epiphany or a complete perfect picture of everything coming together. What usually happens is as we move through our lives, and as we learn more about ourselves, we get more clarity. We learn our likes, our dislikes, what our passions and our strengths are. And these will all contribute to us discovering what we truly want in life, our goals and our aspirations. I understand working to achieve your goals can feel daunting at first, and to avoid feeling intimidated once you know what you want. Keep it simple, break your goals into smaller, more doable steps. Instead of trying to change everything in your life all at once. Focus on doing one thing consistently. If you’re trying to get in shape, and you’ve never exercised, start by walking for 10 or 15 minutes every day. If you’re trying to create better sleeping habits, start by going to bed 10 minutes earlier each night. If you want to eat healthier, change your shopping habits and prep meals ahead of time. You see, these are the baby steps. So just take those baby steps. Eventually, your mindset and behaviour will start to shift, I promise you.

Dr Marisa Lee Naismith 17:39

One of the best mental disciplines for people to implement is simply putting together a schedule or a task list and then actually going and doing the very things that are on your list. This makes life so much easier. It is a no brainer. And I live by this. I can assure you discipline requires a schedule people. There is no discipline without a schedule. Plan ahead, right the list or the schedule the night before. How do you know where you have to be at what time and with whom, if you haven’t a schedule, you’re not lacking discipline here. You’re just a hot disorganised mess. So go fill out your schedule and go for it. You will begin to master your days and feel so much more competent. And the more competence we have, the better we feel about ourselves and our progress. Our minds love our when when we do the very thing we promised ourselves How good does that feel? So work on building your discipline by having a plan, writing it on your calendar, your to do list your planner, whatever works best for you. And with practice, you will achieve anything and everything you put your mind to.

Dr Marisa Lee Naismith 19:24

happiness, success and fulfilment stem from focus and discipline. There’s no denying this. Basically everything positive in my life has come from discipline. You must have the willingness to do whatever needs to be done and to be consistent day after day. You know, I did well at uni not because I was that smart, but because I had the discipline to study really hard when I felt inspired to write my book It took more than inspiration to sit down and start typing for hundreds of hours. It took discipline for me to sit down and put the words on paper. It’s okay, if you don’t feel as though you had the required amount of discipline because discipline is something that we’re not born with. It’s a learned behaviour. And just like any other skill, if you want to master it, it requires daily practice and repetition, it must become a habit. And that is the real message here. If you want to transform your life in a positive way, that transformation will not happen by itself. You’re the one that needs to make it happen. You need to do the work, you need to put in the hours, the days, the weeks, the months and the years, you need discipline to stay on track, and don’t stray from the path that leads to positive transformations. The path that leads you to a better you the path that leads to freedom. And one last thing, whatever you do, be sure and reflect on how far you’ve come. Celebrate even the smallest of wins and reward yourself. Discipline requires rewarding and celebrating it is so worth it. Remember, a lifelong journey of discipline will lead to a lifelong journey of freedom. Now is the time to get that discipline in your life and enjoy that freedom that you’ve been searching for.

Dr Marisa Lee Naismith 21:57

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of a voice and beyond. I hope you enjoyed it as now is an important time for you to invest in your own self care, personal growth and education. Use every day as an opportunity to learn and to grow so you can show up feeling empowered and ready to live your best life. If you know someone who will also be inspired by this episode, please be sure to copy and paste the link and share it with them. Or share it on social media and use the hashtag a voice and beyond. I promise you I am committed to bringing you more inspiration and conversations just like this one every week. And if you would like to help me please rate and review this podcast and cheer me on by clicking the subscribe button on Apple podcast right now. I would also love to know what it is that you most enjoyed about this episode. And what was your biggest takeaway? Please take care and I look forward to your company next time on the next episode of a voice and beyond.

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