More choices = More room for error.
“The easiest way to build commitment with anything is to simply remove ‘not doing it’ as an option.
Most people struggle with discipline because they give themselves an outlet.
Take away the outlet.
More choices = More room for error.
Give yourself only one choice:
Do.”
-Ray Zingler on X
It sounds obvious.
But at first glance, you’re probably thinking that’s “unrealistic” to do.
It’s good to have options. It’s good to have choices. It’s a blessing to have free will!
And I largely agree, however where I think these options and choices can get dangerous are in the realms of building commitment and discipline.
Whether your objective is to become the best guitar player you can be or the best fitness trainee you can be..
They require repetition if you want to “be those things”. You must practice.
Sure, you can “get better” at the guitar by playing every now and then, you can have “better” health by working out sporadically (vs. not working out at all).
But if you want to be the best you can be at any of these things (or whatever your thing is) it will require another level of commitment.
It will require a freakish sense of dedication. Dare I say it must become an obsession.
Training is my thing.
I love all things training.
Training myself. Training others. Reading about training. Studying training. Troubleshooting training. Trying new training. I love it all. I have for many years, and I likely will continue to until they put me in an old pine box.
And because training is the thing that I want to be the best I can be at; I recognize I must regularly expose myself to training.
And as a mentor of mine Dan John says, “If it’s important, do it every day.”
Welp, training is very important to me.
So, guess what, I am going to do it every day.
And here is the kicker..
I’ve removed the option of “not doing it”.
What helps me stay disciplined with it is that the concept of “not doing it” doesn’t even exist in my brain. I’m “not allowed” to not do it.
Of course, not every day is a home run, but that’s the beauty of “forcing” myself to do it every day.
I don’t have to hit homeruns.
I’m just trying to hit singles every day.
Sometimes they are hard hit singles and sometimes they are bloopers that just happen to work out and that’s okay.
The key is just finding a way to consistently get on base.
