Self dicipline

[Surya]

Anyone got some advice on how to cultivate it? I am, by nature I think, extremely low on it. Prob 98 percentile or something crazy. First step is dopamin detox, I believe, but advice on that as well as other steps are welcome. Another thing I think is crucial is finding work that are somewhat in tune with my nature, instrinsic motivation.

 

Wish you a good day 

Edited Thursday at 05:07 AM by Surya

[Lairg]

Give up the pharmaceuticals and take up gardening.

 

Caring for plants will move your attention away from your own desires.

 

Getting your hands in the soil will ground you

 

The nature spirits (lesser devas) will help heal you.

 

Effective meditation can  follow later

 

 

Edited Thursday at 07:51 AM by Lairg

[Lala Nila]

Atomic Habits, by James Clear is an excellent book to help build discipline.

 

ask ChatGPT to summarize this book for you if you don't want to commit to buying, although I highly recommend.

 

Dopamine detox is a great idea, identify the triggers, find small solutions to counter it. Don't be too hard on yourself, especially if you fail.

 

It basically states that discipline is built over small increments over time and you build on those increments each session.

 

So instead of saying I'm getting off the internet entirely, start small and say "I'm going to limit my browsing time to 3-4 hours today in total" then go from there.

 

Or instead of committing to a chapter a day for a book for a month, start smaller- "I'll read 10 pages a day for for this week" 

 

I also agree with Lairg, get outside, spend time in nature, feel the soil with your hands and the breeze on your face. 

 

I also like motivational speakers- David Goggins and Jocko Willink words seem to kick my butt in gear when I'm getting lazy, especially when training. I like confrontation and harsh words at times, so that might not work for everyone

[liminal_luke]

This is what I´m doing lately: Practice — WOOP my life.  So far, so good.

[Surya]

Thanks to you all.. 

 

@Lairg I live in an apartment, BUT, i happen to have some carrot, dill, chilli and spring onion seeds laying around. I think it is a great idea, really.  On giving up the pharmasuticals... certainly, I do not even know why I use it and keep using, when... it is just dumb on so many levels haha, but yeah.

 

@Lala Nila So, Ive been enjoying your blog posts. This morning, we studied the following verse: https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/4/25/62/
I am a little tired now, so the exact talk he gave after the reading, I do not recall entirley, but the importance of showing up, asscociating with the good, listening to the wise, reading vedic texts daily and developing a higher taste as the way to drop bad habits, stood out to me. Like, lets say you eat a lot of junk - the solution isnt to quit eating, but to get the taste for better foods. And this can be found in the company of the wise. So, I read you do jappa, right, I am supposed to, as well. When you think about it, it really is the simplest thing in the world, but for whatever reason I am extremly inconcistent with it, even tho I have experimental knowledge of its beneficial effects. It is not like they ask me to do it to torture me, uknow. So I asked him where the resistance might come from. I belive he said it was due to material conditioning... When I am in good company or a place that has that sacred vibe, doing my duties becomes so much easier, and my mind a lot calmer.

 

And yeah, in regards to this: 

5 hours ago, Lala Nila said:

I also like motivational speakers- David Goggins and Jocko Willink words seem to kick my butt in gear when I'm getting lazy, especially when training. I like confrontation and harsh words at times, so that might not work for everyone

https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/17/15/

So yeah, if one is being judgemental or hard on me when I hardly know them, ofc I dont like that. BUT when it is done intelligently, by one you recognize as a teacher and with the intention to help, go for it. One should be humble as grass, he told me. When someone steps on it, it doesnt get hurt. It simply bends down and rises right up again afterwards.

 

5 hours ago, Lala Nila said:

Atomic Habits, by James Clear is an excellent book to help build discipline.

Grazie

 

5 hours ago, liminal_luke said:

This is what I´m doing lately: Practice — WOOP my life.  So far, so good.

Thank you. 
 

[steve]

I find martial arts training to be a wonderful way to cultivate self-discipline. Running and weightlifting are also good but nothing beats martial arts for me.

[Lala Nila]

2 hours ago, Surya said:

Thanks to you all.. 

 

@Lairg I live in an apartment, BUT, i happen to have some carrot, dill, chilli and spring onion seeds laying around. I think it is a great idea, really.  On giving up the pharmasuticals... certainly, I do not even know why I use it and keep using, when... it is just dumb on so many levels haha, but yeah.

 

@Lala Nila So, Ive been enjoying your blog posts. This morning, we studied the following verse: https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/4/25/62/
I am a little tired now, so the exact talk he gave after the reading, I do not recall entirley, but the importance of showing up, asscociating with the good, listening to the wise, reading vedic texts daily and developing a higher taste as the way to drop bad habits, stood out to me. Like, lets say you eat a lot of junk - the solution isnt to quit eating, but to get the taste for better foods. And this can be found in the company of the wise. So, I read you do jappa, right, I am supposed to, as well. When you think about it, it really is the simplest thing in the world, but for whatever reason I am extremly inconcistent with it, even tho I have experimental knowledge of its beneficial effects. It is not like they ask me to do it to torture me, uknow. So I asked him where the resistance might come from. I belive he said it was due to material conditioning... When I am in good company or a place that has that sacred vibe, doing my duties becomes so much easier, and my mind a lot calmer.

 

And yeah, in regards to this: 

https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/17/15/

So yeah, if one is being judgemental or hard on me when I hardly know them, ofc I dont like that. BUT when it is done intelligently, by one you recognize as a teacher and with the intention to help, go for it. One should be humble as grass, he told me. When someone steps on it, it doesnt get hurt. It simply bends down and rises right up again afterwards.

 

Grazie

 

Thank you. 
 

 

Thanks for that quote! I believe that your teacher is correct- in a spiritual setting, yes this method is beneficial. But, sometimes we need we also need a hard lesson and hard language to motivate us or just to help us see through some illusions, the wise person will know the differences in setting and when to apply it. 

 

I love this grass analogy quite a bit! 

 

 

[yugenphoenix]

On 8/21/2025 at 6:07 PM, steve said:

I find martial arts training to be a wonderful way to cultivate self-discipline. Running and weightlifting are also good but nothing beats martial arts for me.

Amazing advice from a man with many worn shoes on the Way 🙇

 

I wholeheartedly agree! Running, especially recommend trail running, it’s my main “practice” as I feel such a connection out in the mountains and rivers and stones and trees with Being, thru my body’s feelings, breathing, motion, sights of amazement in such beautiful surroundings, it’s a real Shen Gong practice for me 🙂

 

I also endorse weightlifting and body weight exercises like pull ups, pushups, dips, and sit ups done as super sets. Any physical activity done in moderation is good for your energy cultivation. 
 

Running will make you go thru your pain cave and into a place of deep strength if you let it 👊 And of course taking pain is the first step of you want to practice the martial arts.

 

With @steve here the Dao bums for sure has much strength with very positive advice and direction 🙏

Edited yesterday at 12:44 AM by yugenphoenix

[yugenphoenix]

On 8/21/2025 at 3:50 AM, Lairg said:

Give up the pharmaceuticals and take up gardening.

 

Caring for plants will move your attention away from your own desires.

 

Getting your hands in the soil will ground you

 

The nature spirits (lesser devas) will help heal you.

 

Effective meditation can  follow later

 

 

Agree with you! I hated gardening! And my mother (before she died) and my wife love it! Then my wife made this thing in our yard called a “forest garden” (if you don’t know it just Google it 🙂) and I watched it shape, then began helping shape it into a hidden grove, with fruit trees, herbs, flowers, a stone fire pit. It’s an amazing peaceful, quiet, place filled with such beauty and CHI. And I love digging in the dirt now and helping things grow. Seeing the insects and connections, feeling the sun, the delicate wind, and tranquil rains. It’s a full practice in itself 🙏
 

George Harrison was a devout Hindu practitioner all his life and he retired from fame and lived as a recluse in a mansion surrounded by 7 vast gardens which he spent his days slowly “cultivating” 🙂

Edited yesterday at 12:53 AM by yugenphoenix

[Tommy]

I first looked up what self discipline means.

 

Google responded with AI, ...

 

To be "self-disciplined" means you have the ability to control your own actions and impulses, allowing you to work hard and behave in a desired way without external prompting or supervision. It's the capacity to pursue long-term goals by managing your emotions and weaknesses, choosing what is right or beneficial for you even when faced with distractions, temptations, or difficult feelings. 

 

So, if I give advice or external prompting then it isn't self discipline? Is it?? One's ability to choose a path and follow it in spite of difficulties and temptations. So, it has to be a choice one makes and follows?? 

 

If I choose to stop smoking then I have to have enough discipline to stop? I quit a long time ago but still have dreams of smoking once in a while. My wife was a big motivator in quitting smoking. I do believe that the environment has an effect upon one's habits. Much like the experiment scientist did upon rats. Held in bare cages with two bottles of water. One bottle with plain water and the other laced with cocaine. The rats drank from the one laced with cocaine consistently until they died. Another scientist looked at the experiment and decided to give the rats the two bottles but also offer companionship of other rats. A place to rest and play. With the better environment, the rats stayed away from the cocaine laced water. So, my belief is that if your environment is conducive to the things you want to achieve then you will do so. If however, your environment is not then you will struggle all the way to losing yourself.

 

My only advice is to determine your goals and seek the environment that will best suit your success. Good luck to you.

Edited 18 minutes ago by Tommy