Beyond Bubble Baths: Embracing Discipline as a High Form of Self-Care
Self-care is important. I’ve often talked about how leaders have a responsibility of self-care to themselves and their team – if you can’t take care of yourself, how do you expect to be a resource for others? Often, discipline can seem like the opposite of self-care, but I want to plant the idea in your head that these two concepts aren’t as far apart as you might think.
Discipline: The Cool Cousin of Self-Care
Let's reframe discipline as the cool cousin of self-care. It's the friend who nudges you to wake up early for that morning jog that you know deep down you want to do, or the mentor encouraging you to put down the phone and dive into that passion project. When approached with this mindset, discipline becomes the backbone of transformative habits – a form of self-care that works in the long term.
The Habits that Hug
Habits are like secret handshakes with your future self – a series of small, intentional actions that set you up for success. By working on your habits and holding yourself accountable, you are looking out for yourself.
However, the real challenge lies not in deciding to adopt these habits but in the daily act of implementation. Habits are formed from discipline. A habit only becomes a habit once you have been disciplined enough for it to happen consistently, almost without thought. Though many site the figure of “21” repetitions to form a habit, there’s no magic number for how many times it takes. Everyone is different, and not every habit comes naturally - but repetition is key according to scientists, regardless of the number.
Resources to Fuel Your Discipline Journey
James Clear's bestselling book, Atomic Habits, is considered the gold standard when it comes to building habits. His intro to discipline and habit-forming centers around this quote:
You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.
If you have to start somewhere, start with this book. It teaches all about how to build habits into your life, and “stack” them to make everything you do “habit-based”. If you want to look beyond Atomic Habits, there are various resources when it comes to building discipline. For further reading, look at The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, Deep Work by Cal Newport, and The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy.
Discipline Works When You Prioritize Yourself
By building habits and discipline into your life, you are prioritizing your well-being – something which is vital for leaders. There are a thousand and one distractions in any given workday. People demand your time and resources and will inject chaos whenever they can into your carefully crafted habits. But by recentering yourself on and prioritizing discipline, you are allowing yourself the self-care needed to help you in the long run.
We’ve talked more than once about the concept of awareness, which is your superpower as a leader. As mentioned in the previous blogs, it isn’t just about the awareness of others and your environment – you need to be aware of yourself. Building discipline is just another aspect of this awareness.
Discipline is Freeing
Discipline is not about restriction; it's about liberation – more discipline creates more discipline. Once you start to build habits into one aspect of your life, it makes it easier to build it into other places. Embrace the joy of creating habits that serve your highest self, and let discipline be just another aspect of your self-care routine.
Meridith Marshall is the CEO and Founder of Uncharted Way and has seen firsthand how people and organizations can navigate the most difficult of circumstances with clarity and openness to improve employee experience and culture in their workplace. She is an industry-recognized expert in using a data-driven approach and is a therapist and certified Co-Active coach.