Discipline is Easy

Discipline becomes almost effortless once it's ingrained in your routine. Learn how to start small and make one disciplined choice today to build momentum for positive change.

00:00 Introduction and Controversial Topic

00:58 Personal Experiences with Discipline

02:43 The Concept of Identity in Discipline

03:53 The Importance of 'Why' in Discipline

06:03 Building Habits and Systems

10:50 Tips for Making Discipline Easier

12:48 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

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Transcript

 Welcome to the Nine to Five Wellness Podcast, a show about corporate wellness solutions with innovators and forward-thinking leaders who are at the forefront of the workplace wellness movement. I'm your host, Aisha Tahir.

 Hello everyone. Happy New Year. Happy 2026. How are you feeling about 2026? I am super excited. I know 2026 is gonna be my year. There's something about even numbered years. I feel like I tend to do better in even numbered years. So I am super pumped for 2026. I know that we are all gonna crush it together.

I wanna hear all about your goals and aspirations for 2026. You can hit me up on my social media platforms, LinkedIn and Instagram at aisha Shahir. That's my full name. That's my handle on both of these platforms. I wanna know what your plans are for 2026 and what you're gonna be up to.

Today's episode that you're about to hear in a few minutes was recorded two weeks ago, but. I figured that I'm gonna publish it today because it gels well with the new year theme.

It's about discipline and how discipline can get easy by building habits for success. So here you go with episode number 96 of nine to five Wellness Podcast.

 Today we are tackling something a little controversial, which I didn't realize would be controversial till a couple of weeks ago. And the topic is discipline is easy. So a couple of weeks ago I posted on LinkedIn that discipline is easy and I got a few mixed comments that discipline can feel easy for some, or it's a misnomer that. Discipline is easy, and my LinkedIn post was that discipline is easy. That's the only way I know to get things done.

I've started realizing that's an unpopular opinion. I often hear my clients say that discipline is holding them back. From achieving more, staying disciplined is the way that I've made progress in many areas of my life. I've ran uncountable races. I actually ran a half marathon in New York City last Saturday.

I've written a book, I've produced a podcast. I've, you know, made money, saved money, all because of discipline and be behind all of this is like my boring daily routine, which goes like. Wake up, drink coffee. Get my CrossFit workout in. Go to work. Read for 30 minutes work, write for 30 minutes, go for a run.

Go home, relax, get ready for next day and sleep. And I know a lot of people think it's too hard. Because sometimes they identify as not being as rigid or they like flexibility, or sometimes goals feel hard. But I'm here to tell you today that discipline is for everyone. It doesn't matter what you think discipline is.

Something that everyone can practice. And today we are going to dive deeper into this topic and learn how to make discipline easier. And I know what you're thinking. You're like easy Aisha, are you kidding me? It's a daily struggle. We associate discipline with deprivation, with force of will, with hard work. And sure, sometimes it is all of that. But I want to flip the script today a little bit. What if the concept of discipline is simple? The mechanics of it are straightforward, even if the execution takes some practice.

The reason why you fail to be disciplined is because you're thinking about it the wrong way and you're not alone. The wrong way is focusing on the outcomes because the outcomes aren't going to come fast enough.

Instead, I want you to start thinking about your identity, how the actions you take are tied to your identity. Focusing on outcomes fails because outcomes take time to get to. You will rely on a lot of willpower if you ignore building your identity, as we all know. Willpower is finite. Your willpower will give up on you, especially when you're tired or you're too busy, which is most of the people I know.

This all makes it more likely, you'll fail to be disciplined. Your identity is closely related to your why. Find your why. This is the most important step that you're gonna take because if you can't associate your goal with your why, you'll have a hard time being consistent with your actions. I read this awesome example of why on a blog post this morning as I was preparing for this podcast episode, and I wanna share it here with you. Imagine this, there's a wooden plank lying flat on the ground. You're offered $20 to walk across it. You'd most likely do it without a second thought.

Why not? It's easy and there's no risk involved. Now, picture that same wooden plank, only this time it's stretched between two skyscrapers, hundreds of feet in the air. Would you cross it for $20? Now, of course not. The stakes are too high. If you fall down, you won't make it. But now imagine this on the other end of the plank is your child or a sibling, someone you love a lot, and they get trapped on the other side of it.

In a burning building, the only way to save them is to cross the plank. Now the fear, the risk, and the danger doesn't matter anymore, does it? You'd cross that plank without hesitation because the why of saving your child or your loved one is so powerful. It overrides every other consideration. That's why you need a strong why.

This is the foundation of building a new identity. If you skip this step, but do the rest, it's like building a house with no foundation at all. It's only a matter of time until it crumbles, but if you build an identity with a strong why, you'll become someone who is likely to achieve the goal.

You won't rely on willpower alone. Let's say you run a half mile every day, then being a runner is part of your identity. Or you eat salad at lunch and dinner, preferably with some protein. Then you're a healthy eater. Let's say you run a half mile every day, then being a runner is part of your identity now, or.

Let's take another example that you eat salad at lunch and dinner, preferably with some protein. In my case, then you're a healthy eater. Once you align your identity with the type of person who achieves the goal, your actions naturally align with your goals. You won't need to force discipline because it's already who you are.

Think about it. Discipline is just about making a choice once and then following a system you have set up for yourself. It's not about waking up every single morning and having a brutal internal battle over whether or not to go for a run. The discipline is in the decision you made the night before. I am a person who runs in the morning.

I'm a person who eats healthy meals, so guess what? That person will put their running clothes on their dresser so they see them first thing in the morning. That's the power of identity. That person is gonna pack their lunch and dinner the night before. The actual act actually becomes less about force then because it's part of who you are and more about following through what you believe to be.

You took the willpower out of the daily equation. 

Let's look at a simple example. Flossing your teeth. We all know we should do it. The discipline isn't about staring at the floss every night, right? Wrestling with your inner self. Oh, am I gonna floss? Am I not gonna floss? Should I floss? Oh, no, I skipped flossing tonight. That's not how it works, right?

You brush your teeth every night, and then you follow it up. With flossing, the discipline is the first time you bought the floss and committed to it being part of your nightly routine.

Now you just do it. It's a two minute habit ingrained in your evening routine. Easy right? Now, I'm not saying building that initial habit is effortless. It takes repetition, it takes consistency, but once the behavior becomes automatic, the discipline part becomes almost invisible.

That's the key. True discipline feels less like struggle and more like autopilot. The hard part isn't discipline itself. It's overriding the resistance that comes with change. Yes, you are going to have to change because now you're adopting a new identity. It's the instant gratification monkey on your back screaming, stay in bed.

Eat that donut. Watch one more episode on Netflix, but here's the secret. You don't beat the monkey with willpower. You beat the monkey with systems and creating a new identity for yourself. You lay out your workout clothes and running clothes the night before you put the fruit bowl on the counter and throw away the cookies.

You automate the good choices. So now I'm rethinking my original LinkedIn post. That maybe the mantra shouldn't be. Discipline is easy. It should be discipline gets easy. It's a skill you build, and every time you make that proactive choice, you're building a stronger, more resilient autopilot for your life.

Once you own it as your identity, you'll start experiencing the spillover effect . Making one small discipline change can create momentum for other positive changes in your life. For example, starting a small exercise habit can lead to better eating habits, which leads to increased confidence in your ability to execute actions and bring results.

So how can you make discipline feel easier? Here are a few tips that I follow myself and I wanna share with you. First one is make sure that the goal is to build the habit of consistency. So taking consistent small actions is gonna be key.

Second, try to establish non-negotiables. Choose a few key actions you will commit to every day, and do them without debating. Yep. Just get rid of that self-doubt and just take the action. Also, it's okay to feel the fear and do it anyways. Discipline involves doing things even when your mind resists. See, resistance is not the reason to stop, but it is an opportunity to build strength and get over your doubts.

And most importantly, build a supportive environment. I'm talking about community. Surround yourself with people who are pursuing similar goals. This can help you stay accountable and learn faster than trying to do it alone. These are a few ways to make discipline easier, so start small. One choice, one system, one automated habit At a time.

Before you know it, you'll look back and think, wow, this discipline thing is really easy. That's all for today's quick Thought on discipline. Thank you so much for listening to me today, and it was so nice chatting with you as always. I encourage you to make one disciplined choice today. Talk to you guys soon.

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