Externally induced discipline is a form of imprisonment and we all resent it. In fact human beings are intrinsically attracted to freedom and resent any form of imprisonment, be it physical or psychological.

The reason why externally induced discipline is viewed as imprisonment. This is due to a lack of understanding or awareness by the individual on the potential damage a particular action can inflict on himself or on others.

Unfortunately most people apply the same lack of understanding or awareness when they apply self discipline to any effort. This is probably why most people struggle with self discipline. The struggle has nothing to do with the self discipline itself but to how the self discipline is created.

Self discipline without deep understanding or awareness is forced effort and viewed as a form of prison which humans resent.

However self discipline which arises from deep understanding or awareness is not forced and any effort that is not forced is a form of freedom. This is therefore attractive and easy to be part of our lifestyle.

Let me give you a simple example to illustrate this concept. A one year old child typically wants to stick his finger into the electrical socket point in the wall because he is totally ignorant about the danger of this action. Adults have to externally discipline him and he normally resents this discipline. However as the child grows older and has a deeper understanding and awareness about the consequences of sticking his finger into the electrical socket point, there is effortless self discipline on the child’s part and you do not see the child struggling to keep his fingers out of the socket.

Of course the concept of getting hurt by electricity is easy to understand and the danger is immediate and imminent.

The real challenge of effortless self discipline via deep understanding and awareness is when a subject matter is rather complicated. The danger of lack of understanding is not immediate or imminent. Unfortunately getting into shape falls into this category. Subjects like exercise, nutrition, supplementation & restoration and their synergistic impact on the body can be rather overwhelming for most people.

One trap that most people fall under is to pass the responsibility of understanding even the basics to someone else such as a personal coach, a financial consultant, a nutritionist or even a doctor. Now while the advise provided may be sound but without the individual having a deeper understanding, effortless self discipline does not arise. It becomes very hard to maintain this healthy lifestyle.

Now I am not suggesting you need to become an expert in exercise, nutrition, supplementation or restoration to enjoy the immediate benefits of getting in shape. You may be able to achieve good results if you adhere to the correct weight loss principles just with forced discipline for the initial phase. But to ensure you continue with this new lifestyle and enjoy the life long benefits of good physique, youthful energy and great health , you need to ensure that you develop a deeper understanding of the these subjects with time. Why are you doing what you are doing?

If you observe carefully, those who maintain a healthy lifestyle with proven results have achieved this deeper understanding. The rest have typically failed to maintain their physique, energy or health no matter how good they may have looked at one time just with brute discipline.

Humans will always gravitate towards freedom and move away from imprisonment. A deeper understanding of the undertaking and awareness is the key to this transformation.