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Most people really do want to make a life’s change for the better. Few of those are willing to do something about it. Even fewer will do what it takes to make it a reality. Whether trying to start a side hustle, write a book, train for a certain skill, or simply develop good habits, what are some life hacks to help you do what it takes?
PASSION
Let’s say you want to learn how to play the piano or to move up an entire shooting class or level in your firearms training. You must first come to the realization that you are now not at that level. Admitting this to yourself is a necessary first step as humans require a ‘reason why’ so that we may absorb the ‘how’ and the ‘what.’
Next is to have the passion. How badly do you want it? We hominids derive our motivation form passion. Parents are motivated do what’s best for their children, doctors are motivated to best serve their patients and lawyers strive to be successful for their clients. All are driven by passion.
Motivation is derived from passion. Having a passion for playing the piano or becoming a Master Class shooter is what motivates you to dedicate resources such as time and money toward your goals. Without passion there is no motivation and without motivation there is no action or movement in the forward direction.
COMMITMENT
Following passion, the impetus behind your motivation, comes commitment. To accomplish a long-term goal such as learning a musical instrument, speaking a second language or significantly raising your skill levels takes a tremendous amount of dedication. The term ‘commitment’ refers to making up your mind (and sticking to it) that this is something you promise or dedicate to yourself.
To fulfill that dedication and remain committed to your goals and objectives means that you must allocate resources. Inevitably those resources are time, money and work effort.
Most people who may have the financial wherewithal usually don’t have the time. Conversely those who have plenty of time usually don’t have the means. Striking that balance between time and fiscal flexibility can be quite the balancing act. However, let’s assume that you can allocate the three nights a week it takes and can secure the necessary finances. Making the commitment means that you have fully dedicated your resources to this endeavor. You have dedicated and will continue to dedicate those resources necessary to fulfill the desired goals of your passion.
DISCIPLINE
Lastly but certainly not least in the list of life hacks to help you do what it takes is none other than discipline.
What separates tier-one government assets from the rest of the department of defense? What makes one team or individual athlete perform head and shoulders above the rest? The answer is plain and simply discipline.
Since the world’s first recorded professional army conscripted by King Sargon of Akkad, through the ancient Greek world-renown Spartan warriors, the famed Roman legions and the highly revered U.S. Marine Corps, the one common denominator shared by all was, and still is to this very day, discipline.
Passion waxes and wanes. Consequentially motivation comes and goes, but what must remain a constant are both your commitment and discipline. The more important of the two is discipline. In the end if you lack discipline, you lack the regimen to stay mentally and physically focused. Without such focus you lose sight of your objective. Loosing sight of your objective compromises your commitment which causes a cascading series of deteriorating events or downward spiral derailing you from your original goal.
The body cannot accomplish what the mind cannot grasp. To do what it takes must include a set routine. In the case of wanting to raise your shooting level – one of the necessary steps is to increase your dryfire. Building a daily or weekly routine to do so can only take root using discipline.
Let’s say you commit every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to dryfire once a day. You create your dryfire routine and you purchase a timer and extra holster and the like. You then commit to those days and specific time—for example 30 minutes. Visualize yourself diligently practicing three times a week for six months. Do you believe your skill level will rise or fall?
Any time you build a routine and stick to that regimen you employ discipline. Being disciplined builds mental toughness, good habits and a strong foundation upon which to set your commitment and dedication.
When you get bogged down, hit a plateau or just don’t feel like practicing it’s only discipline that can carry you out of that swamp. If all else fails, you can rely on your discipline pull you through.
Although initially motivated by passion, commitment remains critical to mission success. It’s imperative that you remain dedicated to your goals and to do this is to continually commit the resources of time and work effort. As motivation tends to rise and fall, you can rely fully upon your discipline to stay the course. Finding your passion, making that commitment, and using your discipline are all what it takes to meet your personal goals.
