• It can be tempting to think of your self-discipline as isolated incidents that you must overcome. This would be a mistake. Self-discipline does not exist in a vacuum and is highly dependent on five factors that make up the cycle of self-discipline. Or, more accurately, the cycle of laziness.

• The phases are unhelpful assumptions (“Life is short, so I should enjoy it and not spend my precious time washing that dusty car!”); increasing discomfort from knowingly avoiding responsibility (“I’d rather not wash the car. It’s boring and uncomfortable.”); excuses to decrease discomfort (“It’s perfectly reasonable for me not to wash the car. It’s so hot outside I would melt.”); avoidance activities to decrease discomfort (“I will clean the bathroom instead. I’m still productive!”); and negative and positive consequences from avoiding responsibility (“Ah, I feel better about myself now. Oh, wait. I still need to wash that car . . .”)—at which point you find yourself right back at the beginning, except with less willpower and incentive than before because negative consequences create pessimism, while positive consequences create self-sabotage.

#Discomfort #PositiveConsequences #RussellNewton #NewtonMG #PeterHollins #TheScienceofSelf #UnderstandTheCycle;BreakTheCycle

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