I Chose “Discipline” As My Theme Word for 2022 — Here’s What I Should Have Chosen Instead
Because trying to force yourself into a routine really doesn’t work when you have ADHD~
If you’ve listened to any personal development guru, you’ve likely heard Jim Rohn’s quote, “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments” or similar sentiments of “discipline over motivation.”
But if you’re anything like me, trying to establish daily habits and discipline isn’t as easy as the gurus make it sound.
Why Did I Choose Discipline as My Theme Word?
2021 was the first time I dedicated a year to one centralized theme. I chose the word “intent” because I knew I needed to start making smarter and more informed decisions about my career, relationships, and personal growth. Throughout the year, I asked myself often if I was making choices with intent or just making them because I felt obligated.
On New Year’s Eve, I decided that this year would be about leveling up and improving five distinct areas of my life:
- Mental Health
- Skills
- Physical Health
- Travel
- Finances
I set lofty, tangible goals for myself (5000 minutes of meditation, complete Google’s Data Analyst certification, bench press 100 pounds, go to Puerto Rico for four days, put $9k in a High-Yield Savings Account, etc. ).
Most of my goals, though, had a common theme — they’d require daily discipline if I were to reach them by the end of 2022.
I decided then that “discipline” would be my word of the year.
How’d That Work Out?
Like any New Year’s Resolution, it worked great for the first few months. I kicked the year off by buying and filling out a new digital planner (which I dubbed my “life map”), but you can see below my “discipline” over time:
As you can see, I was motivated enough in the first month, but that motivation slowly trickled out over time (and, full disclosure, I haven’t used the life map again since March).
If I’m being honest, though, I was still motivated to do these things and hit my goals even when I wasn’t actively completing them.
So why wasn’t I completing my daily task list? I blame executive dysfunction, but how ADHD impacts my daily life is a post for another day.
What’s important here is that it’s hard to have discipline when you often don’t have full control over your ability to complete basic tasks, let alone a whole list of 10+ items each day in addition to your usual work day and adult routine.
If Discipline Wasn’t the Right Word, What Was?
It’s clear that discipline (trying to do a certain task or set of tasks each day) doesn’t work for me.
But I’ve noticed on social media, with my recently opened Etsy shop, and with other people's personal growth, that *daily* discipline doesn’t matter nearly as much as consistency over time.
If you know anything about investing in ETFs, you’ve likely heard the term DCA or “Dollar Cost Averaging” — the idea is that you should consistently buy into the market over time regardless of if the market is up or down because the act of investing regularly is more important long-term than trying to time the market (which is super hard to do and is not recommended for the average investor).
So What’s the Life Lesson Here?
When I kicked off 2022, I thought discipline was the end all be all to getting results quickly. When I made my goals, I was hyper-focused on immediate gratification.
Something I heard from Tony Robbins earlier this year is that “People overestimate what they can do in one year and severely underestimate what they can do in five.”
Discipline, to me, is for short-term goals. Consistency is for longevity.
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Thanks so much for reading! If you use an annual theme word, I would love to hear about your experience in the comments!
Additionally, I’m SUUUPER close to getting to 100 followers, and I would really appreciate it if you could hit that follow button and help me reach that goal so I can apply to the Medium Partner Program!
