I know you have dreams.

That perfect 10/10 body, a thriving business that gives you financial freedom.

Flying private, heads turning when you enter a room, the admiration of other people.

Let’s be clear – the road to these dreams is no stroll. It’s a journey paved with grit, years of hard work, battles against self-doubt, and a sprinkle of luck.

Even with all that effort, success isn’t guaranteed. Yet, one thing is certain – if you don’t act, your dreams will remain elusive.

The alternative (i.e. not working towards your dreams) is a life of mediocrity.

Surviving without thriving, entangled in bills forcing you into work that you loathe.

That’s what 99% of people end up doing. Succumbing to the alternative.

Look around you. People are leading safe, linear lives. They’ve convinced themselves that their dreams are too risky.

Crafting a business, daily sweat sessions, adhering to a stringent diet. All this demands one thing: self-discipline. Day in, day out. For years.

Building self-discipline is a prerequisite for sculpting the ideal life you crave. It is the key ingredient you need to make progress.

How do you build self-discipline – that’s the puzzle we’re going to solve. Read on.

Let’s Start With The Mind

Picture your mind as a battleground between two factions:

1. The pre-frontal cortex: the rational planner
2. The limbic system: your impulsive monkey brain

They’re both vying for your attention. Each advocating for a different course of action.

Your pre-frontal cortex says: “You’ve been wanting to switch jobs for over 6 months now – start by updating your CV.”

Your limbic system replies: “Sure, but let’s go through a couple of Instagram reels before – you’ve got some time.” This turns into a 2-hour Instagram reel binge…

What’s happening here? Your limbic system thrives on instant pleasure. It shuns pain, risk, or any expenditure of energy. It will do all it can to push back on whatever your pre-frontal cortex is asking you to do.

The key concept you need to understand about these two factions is this:

The limbic system has a louder voice than your pre-frontal cortex. In the battle between the two factions, the limbic system will win 99% of the time.

Relying on willpower to stay disciplined is a losing battle. You will fail.

So, what’s the strategy when your foe seems invincible? Befriend it.

Harness the limbic system’s desires for short-term pleasure and aversion to pain.

Do this in a way that makes the limbic system work towards your goals rather than against them.

OK, But What Exactly Do I Need To Do?

Here’s a blueprint to hack your limbic system to become more self-disciplined:

1. Magnify the pain of not achieving your goals – make the pain of failure vivid and real.
2. Craft a system where each step toward your goals provides daily doses of pleasure.

Let’s Start With Pain

Create an anti-vision. Envision life without achieving your goals – bills, stress, an out-of-shape body. Dive into the details, feel the strain in your relationships due to financial woes. Write it down.

Don’t skip the writing step – this is crucial.

Writing crystallizes your thoughts, making the pain associated with neglecting your goals tangible.

Your limbic system, flooded with the fear of unfulfillment, becomes your ally. It starts propelling you toward your long-term goals.

Here’s the rub – you’ll forget this. Your mind is for having ideas, not storing them.

Write about this anti-vision every 3 days.

Set a calendar invite, dedicate 20-30 minutes, early in the morning or late at night. Repeat this exercise.

Make Room For Pleasure

Let’s take a bit of a detour into your past.

Reflect on your previous achievements, big or small. Clearing a videogame level, hitting a gym PR, acing an exam – recall the pleasure you felt in those moments.

One of the ways humans feel pleasure is by making progress towards a desirable end. But for it to be valuable to your limbic system, this progress has to be immediate. The problem is that most of our goals need progress over a long stretch of time and the “win” comes at the very end.

Your limbic system rebels because the payoff seems unclear and distant.

Here’s the hack:

Zoom out to outline your end goal and then zoom in to break it down into monthly, weekly, daily tasks.

The golden nugget lies in planning.

Invest 2 hours every 8-10 weeks to create a detailed weekly plan including daily tasks.

Small wins every day.

These will keep feeding your limbic system the pleasure it desires.

Your goal transforms from a distant dream to achievable daily tasks.

Now your goal isn’t to become a NY Times best-selling writer. You’ve broken it down – it’s writing a blog post about a specific topic in one week. It’s writing 150 words every day at 4 PM.

Now, your limbic system craves the daily hits of pleasure it gets by completing each task.

Your limbic system has turned into an ally.

Here’s All You Need To Remember

• Long-term goals demand self-discipline.
• Your brain isn’t wired for it; your limbic brain resists effort.
• Befriend your limbic system.
• Craft an anti-vision to make the pain of not achieving your goals tangible.
• Break down your goals into daily tasks, offering your limbic system daily wins.