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You could say that music chose me rather the other way around as far as my  vocational path was concerned. Despite my parents disapproval, I really wanted to do nothing else but be a guitar player and that was that. The life style suited me perfectly,doing what I loved doing, staying up late, getting up late, and generally living the rock ‘n’roll life style I had always dreamed about. Any kind of discipline that “other people” had to develope to do their jobs just didn’t apply to me-I just had to turn up to the gig!

This was all fine and dandy when I was young but as I got older though there were times when I found I needed to earn more money than I did with my meagre musos income. This meant actually getting up early of a morning  and doing something for someone else day after day, just like everybody else did, and came as a rude shock to my lazy carefree attitude to life.

To start with I found it very tough, especially as I simply was not fit enough to do the job the landscape gardening job a friend had offered-it was very physically demanding. I used to come home suffering from nervous exhaustion and this affected my sleep patterns. But I actually like this kind of work so was determined to stick with it. I needed the money and really that was all that was on offer.

After I had been doing the job for a month or so I noticed a change in my attitude. Initially I had doubts about whether I was cut out for this type of work and many times considered quitting. But sure enough, I gradually felt  fitter and more able to meet the physical demands of the job with each passing week, and my sleep situation settled in to routine as well, meaning I had no problems getting up early in the mornings-inconceivable a few months earlier. Hell, I even started to think this lifestyle actually suited me what with a fit and healthy lifesytle and the learning of new practical skills to boot.

Now I will say that it was my financial situation that kept me disciplined and gave me the will power to not give in to how dreadful I often felt in the early days of doing this job. I certainly would not have considered it otherwise. But it also taught me that I really did possess self discipline and will power-something which I had never to call on for much up to this point in my life. This also made me realise that whether people need to use it or not, everyone also has it.

Whats more, these attributes can be developed through practical training methods. For success in anything, they are considered essential tools. So what are they? Self-discipline is the ability to stick to actions, thought and behavior leading to improvement and success. It is the rejection of short term gains and gratification in the pursuit of a higher and better goal. Will power is the inner strength to decide on a course of actioand see it through to its conclusion regardless of any form of resistance, difficulty or discomfort (oh I remember the discomfort!) It bestows the ability to overcome laziness, temptation and negative habits, and to carry out actions that are tedious, unpleasant or require efforts that are contrary to ones nature.

You don’t have to live like a monk to achieve these attributes but you do have to make some changes to your usual lifestyle. Mine were forced on me through necessity and were somewhat of a wake-up call, but yours can be a little less drastic. By refusing to satisfy some of our less important and unecessary desires we can learn to become mentally stronger. Some intentional actions that are contrary to our usual responses such as refusal and rejection of harmful and pointless activities will begin to build our inner store of inner strength. Try giving up drinking or smoking, walking rather than driving, stop buying snacks and fizzy drinks etc.

Practicing these day today activity changes will exercise  and strengthen your mind so that you will be able to kill procrastination, overcome laziness and develop the perseverance needed to achieve success in anything you chose to take on.