Self-Discipline
Chapter 6
Not
everything that is faced can be changed,
but
nothing can be changed until it is faced.
James
Baldwin, Author
Learning Objectives
Define
self-discipline and cite its benefits.
Explain
how to control impulses.
Describe
the process of replacing bad habits with good ones.
Define
critical thinking and list its seven standards.
List the
steps in the decision making process
Taking Control of Your Life
Self-Discipline The process of teaching yourself to do what
is necessary to reach your goals, without becoming sidetracked by bad habits.
Self-discipline helps you to do this by strengthening your ability to:
control
your destiny
persist
in the face of setbacks
weigh
the long-term consequences of your actions
make
positive changes
break
bad habits
think
critically
make
effective decisions
Elements of Self-Discipline
Discipline comes
from the Latin verb meaning to teach.
Persistence The ability to go on despite opposition,
setbacks, and occasional doubts.
Self-Determination Determining the path your life travels.
Responsibility The ability to make independent proactive
decisions and to accept the consequences of them.
Success Secret
All successful people rely on self-discipline.
Ingredients of
Self-Discipline
Controlling Impulses
Impulse A sudden wish or feeling that can lead to
unplanned and unwise actions.
Acting
on impulse occasionally is relatively harmless. When impulses guide your
behavior, you do things that are not good for you or others such as:
wasting
time, disregarding obligations and letting people down
overreacting
and making comments you wish you could take back later
driving
dangerously
compulsive
spending
overeating
or abusing alcohol and other drugs
jumping
into unhealthy relationships
Controlling
Impulses continued
Thinking Long-Term Its
easy to trick yourself into believing small, impulsive actions, dont have
long-term consequences.
Delaying gratification doesnt mean punishing yourself. It means choosing a later, bigger reward.
When you feel an impulse coming on:
Stop. Realize
you are about to act impulsively.
Think. What will I gain in the short term? What will I lose in the
long term?
Decide. Given the consequences, is it worth it?
Personal Journal 6.2 Thinking
Long-Term
Embracing Change
Do You Resist Change?
Activity 30: Making Positive Changes.
Whats Holding You Back?
Are you making excuses? Remind yourself how
much better you will feel once you take action.
Hidden Resistance
Activity
31: Overcoming Resistance to Change
Success Secret
Success requires the courage to change.
Conquering Bad Habits
Habit A behavior that has become automatic through
repetition.
How do you know when bad habits are causing your problems? Ask yourself
whether any of your habits:
make you
unhappy or feel bad about yourself?
drain
your energy or stand in the way of your goals?
get you
into trouble at work or school?
hurt or
seriously inconvenience others?
Success Secret
When your habits have negative consequences, its
time to change them.
Conquering Bad
Habits 2
Lasting change
doesnt happen overnight.
Changing
habits involves three major steps:
Step 1 Wanting to change the habit.
Before you can break a bad habit, you must
want to change from within.
Step 2 Understanding the habit.
When do
I give in to my bad habit?
Where do
I give in to my bad habit?
Who is
present when I give in to my bad habit?
How do I
feel just before I give in to my bad habit?
How do I
feel just after I give in to my bad habit?
Activity
32: Getting to Know Your Bad Habits
Conquering Bad
Habits 3
Step 3 Replacing the Habit Journal
6.3 Habit Change Chart
Relapse is Normal
Sometimes you try ten times, and not
until the tenth attempt do you succeed. With each attempt, your self-discipline
got stronger until you beat the bad habit.
For Habit Change, Use Positive Self-Talk
Examples:
I arrive
on time for all my classes.
I am
proud of myself for arriving on time.
Discipline Your Thinking
Learning
To Think Critically
Critical Thinking Active, self-reflective thinking.
Benefits of critical thinking are that it helps you solve problems and
overcome obstacles.
Critical
thinking doesnt come easily.
Activity
33: How Critical Is Your Thinking?
Success Secret
Think
and communicate with a clear purpose.
Standards of Critical Thinking
The key to thinking critically is to hold yourself to
high standards.
The
Foundation for Critical Thinking specifies seven standards for excellent
critical thinking.
Whenever you think, speak,
or write, you should try to follow each standard.
Success Secret
Look at
critical thinking as a learning process.
Critical
Thinking continued
Clarity It is
the foundation of critical thinking.
A thought or statement is clear if it is plainly worded and
easily understood.
Unclear: Students need to indicate which classes on the sign-up
sheet they would like to take due to the fact that the December 13 deadline is
approaching.
Why Its Unclear: The sentence is too wordy and long-winded. It makes a
simple statement into a complicated mess.
Clear: Students need to sign up for classes before December 13.
Precision Exactness.
Imprecise: Too much TV makes kids more violent.
Why Its Imprecise: The statement does not specify what kinds of programs
make children more violent.
Precise: Children who are exposed to gratuitous violence on TV are
more inclined to become aggressive.
Accuracy Factual Truth. Ask
yourself:
Is this really true?
Is it possible to check whether this is true? (If
not, the statement is probably not accurate.)
What is this based on?
How reliable is the source of this information?
4. Relevance A fact or idea is relevant if it has a direct
connection to the subject being discussed.
Ask yourself:
Is this
connected to the issue?
Is this
being introduced to change the subject, criticize others, or shift the blame?
5. Depth A thought has depth if it digs
below the surface to consider the substance of the issue.
Shallow: Building
more prisons will solve our drug problem.
Why Its Shallow: This is
a superficial solution to a difficult problem.
Deep: Building
more prisons will allow more drug dealers to be imprisoned, but it wont
address the causes of drug addiction.
6. Breadth The degree to which a statement considers
other arguments and points of view.
Narrow: I dont
know why people like Mikes guitar playingits terrible.
Why Its Narrow: This
statement assumes that there is only one correct point of view on Mikes guitar
playing.
Broad: Mikes
guitar playing appeals to metal fans, but it doesnt appeal to me.
7. Logic The process of drawing the correct
conclusions from the facts and providing valid explanations from your
conclusions.
Illogical: All of
our students are above average.
Why Its Illogical: It is
statistically impossible for a majority of people to be above average when compared to each other.
Logical: All of
our students have special talent in a certain area.
Activity
34: Developing Your Critical Thinking
Success Secret
Remember
that your point of view is only one of many.
Becoming a Better Decision
Maker
Decision A reasoned choice among several options or
possible courses of action.
Good decisions matter because no positive change
happens without making decisions.
Handling Mistakes Everyone makes mistakes. Mistakes can be
valuable tools for you to learn when you view them in a healthy light.
Success Secret
When you
make a major decision, you are creating a new future for yourself.
Steps in the
Decision-Making Process
Step 1 Define the Decision
Framing Effect Decision-making bias that results from the
way a decision, question or problem is worded.
When you are faced with a decision, take care to
frame the decision in different ways so that you dont exclude any possible
options.
Should I
accept this new job?
Should I
settle for this new job?
Should I
reject this new job?
Should I
continue my job search?
Should I remain unemployed?
Step 2 List All Possible
Options
Dont be satisfied with one
or two options; brainstorm until you have a wide range of possible courses of
action from which to choose.
Step 3 Gather Information
The more information you can
gather, the easier it will be to generate options and then evaluate them.
Step 4 Assess the
Consequences
Look into the future and try
to gauge the possible outcomes of each course of action.
Personal Journal 6.4 Pros and Cons
Step 5 Choose One Option
Once youve made your choice,
remember youve done everything in your power to choose the right course.
Step 6 Act
A decision only has value if
you act on it. Dont let fear of regret scare you away from making a decision.
Step 7 Evaluate Your
Progress Ask yourself:
Did I overlook information
that would be helpful in the future?
What can I learn from the
experience to help me make a better decision the next time around?
Activity 35: Using the Decision-Making
Process