#392 Blissipline

Michael Beckwith coined one of my favorite words: blissipline.

Two parts: Bliss + Discipline.

This brilliant thought from Beckwith captures its essence pretty well: “The gift of self-discipline is that it has the power to take you beyond the reasoning of temporary emotion to freedom. Think of how empowered you’ve felt on occasions when you haven’t given in to the ‘I don’t feel like it’ syndrome and honored your commitment to yourself. What does not feeling like it have to do with it? The combination of love for something with the willingness to do what it takes to practice it—discipline—results in freedom.”

I LOVE this line in particular: “What does not *feeling* like it have to do with it?” (Hah.)

You decided to do something. So DO IT!! (Robot-style. With a smile!)

I think Seneca would’ve loved the idea of discipline leading to blissipline. Here’s how he put it a couple thousand years ago: “You have to persevere and fortify your pertinacity until the will to good becomes a disposition to good.”

Translation: We need to have the discipline to stick with something long enough so we can create new habits that eventually lead to a new way of being where doing the right thing comes naturally.

(Sounds a lot like what science says these days and what we talk about it in Habits 101 and Willpower 101: We need to use our finite willpower wisely to install habits that run on autopilot. Think: How to 100,000x Your Performance via Ancient Intelligence.)

Seneca also says: “How much better to pursue a straight course and eventually reach that destination where the things that are pleasant and the things that are honorable finally become, for you, the same.”

Translation: Discipline leads to blissipline when what you love to do is what is best for you. (And, in fact, you get to a point where doing the “WRONG” thing would be harder to do than what you’ve determined is the right thing because your basal ganglia is basically forcing you to do the right thing.)

So… Today’s +1. How’s your discipline?

If you’re doin’ it with a frown, can you turn that upside down?

Here’s to the blissipline that leads to our freedom!