Do you want more self-discipline? Put a book on your head. It works, according to Roy Baumeister, a social psychologist at Florida State. In his book Your Own Worst Enemy Baumeister reports that students who practiced walking with a book on their head (to improve posture) ended up eating better, studying harder, and sleeping more — without specifically focusing on making these improvements.
Baumeister’s theory of self-improvement is that small improvements pave the way for big improvements. As leadership coach Penelope Trunk says, “Self discipline snowballs.” If you can work hard to get disciplined in one area, you can discipline yourself in others more easily.
Maybe that’s why Paul said, “I buffet my body and make it my slave…” (1 Corinthians 9:27). He knew that gaining control over one area can help us gain control over another.
If you want to develop self-discipline, and (like most people) you have a number undisciplined areas to choose from, start with the easiest, not the toughest. Put the proverbial book on your head and start walking straight. — SM
