- If I had more discipline, I would _______.
- What that kid/player needs is more discipline!
- To lose weight, you need discipline.
- You have to be disciplined at the plate.
All these comments and the million others that use the term "discipline" imply the same thing ... that the person needs to get out there and "find" some discipline. I think that's a mistake.
Better habits, not more discipline.
We have all the discipline we need. Our body comes with "discipline software" already installed. It's not something we need to find. Humans are incredible machines that are creatures of habit. Look at your behavior over the past week and you'll likely find it to be the same behavior you are showing this week. We are extremely disciplined, just not always in positive ways. Take a hitter that always swings at the curveball in the dirt. His coach may say he is undisciplined but in reality, the player is very disciplined. He swings at the same pitch all the time! He's just not disciplined in the way the coach wants him to be. The same thing goes for a pitcher who always falls behind in the count or the outfielder who routinely misses the cutoff man. They all have disciplined themselves to screw up over and over again.The point is, we are all very disciplined. We all have habits that are good for us and some that are not. The key to improving as a player is not to go searching for discipline. What players need are better "habits." It's a copout for a player to say, "I'd be better if I had some discipline." People don't use the word "habits" because a habit is under your control. Saying I have a bad habit implies personal responsibility which for some is tough to admit. Saying I don't have discipline implies the kid never had any in the first place. He can then blame others for not "giving" it to him.
There has been much research in terms of how long it takes for a habit to become fully engrained in the body. 30 days seems to be the magic number I've seen from a variety of studies. Do something for 30 days straight, whether it's eating right, exercising, reading, you name it, and it will probably continue as a habit. Of course, all this applies to practicing baseball as well. 30 days worth of tee work hitting the inside part of the ball will teach the habit of hitting the inside part of the ball. 30 days worth of hitting the outside corner with a first pitch fastball will create the habit of control on the outside part of the plate.
Don't be so concerned about discipline. You already have all that you need.
