1-1-1: the power of discipline
read about how to harness inertia to get sh*t done, some new workouts I'm trying, and how it's the small moments in life that are the most impactful.
october, 2023
edition 37.
the weather is turning and I, as a certified california girl, is freezing. I put in an order for a few sweaters online but ya girl needs to learn how to layer!!! I’m excited though — all the dogs will have their cute little sweaters on while the leaves change colour! but check in with me in a few months when the sun sets at 3:30pm; I might not be so thrilled about dogs in sweaters then.
since moving to london, I’ve been experimenting with a bunch of different workout classes! they include:
hot yoga (not my fav)
aerial hoops (also not my fav, I had bruises on the back of my knees for days)
trapeze (I truly enjoyed this one)
calisthenics (I can do jump pull ups wooo)
spin (soulcycle and a few spin classes offered at my gym)
so my new workout ~era~ is workout classes which have been really fun! but rip running, I haven’t laced up my running shoes in a month (crazy) and I’m inconsistent with my lifts. I’m giving myself grace with it all though — all movement is good movement!
you can expect one email from me every week containing:
one quote that has been inspiring me
one journal prompt
one piece of advice*
* = if you want to submit a question for my upcoming emails, you can find the form here.
podcast
new episode with a guest annemarie! we talk about the post grad scaries *as college graduates* — listen to it here <3
one quote
“you may believe that living life to the is seeing every country in the world and quitting your job on a whim and falling recklessly in love, but it’s really just knowing how to be where your feet are.
it’s learning how to take care of yourself, how to make a home within your own skin. it’s learning how to build a simple life you are proud of.
a life most fully lived is not always composed of the things that rock you awake, but those that slowly assure you it’s okay to slow down.
that you don’t always to prove yourself.
that you don’t need to fight forever, or constantly want more.
that it’s okay for things to be just as they are.
little by little, you will begin to see that life can only grow outward in proportion to how stable it is inward — that if the joy is not in the little things first, the big things won’t fully find us.”
—brianna wiest
one journal prompt
when was the last time you pushed through discomfort to achieve something?
one piece of advice
“how do I build self-discipline?”
this is such a niche reference but will smith once said “I believe self discipline is self love” (or something along those lines) and I think about that quote a lot.
in a lot of ways, I agree with him.
a few years ago, I had a conversation with my therapist about self love. it went along the lines of this: “self love tells me that I’m supposed to love myself wherever I’m at, but it also tells me to push myself to do more. that’s contradictory! so what does it actually mean?”
she told me that both can be true at the same time. self love is being proud of yourself for all of your accomplishments while also striving for more. learning about (and then learning to sit in) the grey area was something I did a lot of work on.
I think self discipline falls into the ‘push yourself to do more’ category of self love. it’s doing the hard stuff, the stuff that feels awful in the moment but you know is good for you in the long run. it’s the working out consistently, the eating your greens, the having hard conversations, and the reading self help books aspect of self care.
but the question isn’t ‘what is self discipline’ but how to build it — a much harder concept to grasp.
I can only speak from my own experience so I’ll tell you how I built the life I have today through self discipline: I did the darn thing. every. single. day. I made promises to myself and I kept them. I went to the gym when I didn’t particularly feel like it; I picked up the self help book (sometimes); I didn’t postpone those hard conversations. I did the things I knew were good for me especially when I didn’t feel like doing it in an act of self love.
I was talking to someone recently about how we know all the ‘good’ things we need to do (floss, stretch, try new things, get outside, etc) but there’s a disconnect in actually implementing them. most times, for me, I get overwhelmed with how much I have to do that I don’t do anything at all.
so here’s my actionable step for you today:
what is something you’ve always wanted to implement in your life but haven’t yet?
if there isn’t a tangible reason you haven’t started doing it yet (maybe you’re injured or it’s just not financially feasible to try out ballet at the moment), then start right now. after you finish reading this, take the first step.
inertia is a concept in behavioural science that refers to the tendency to keep doing whatever you’re already doing. so put on those workout clothes even if you’re not going to work out right this second or buy the salad mix and salad dressing even if you’re not having salad with dinner today. what is in motion will stay in motion.
this newsletter is already getting really long so let me leave you with this:
how you live each day is how you live your life.
reading updates
currently reading: the 7 habits of highly effective people by stephen covey, ghost lover by lisa taddeo
finished this week:
ugly love by colleen hoover
if you want to keep up with my reading throughout the week, this is my goodreads :)
I also made a book club channel on instagram! I ask you for recs, you choose my next read, and overall we just talk about books. feel free to join via my profile on ig!
enjoyed this edition?
until we meet again,
katie