External Discipline and Reward Systems Drive Long-Term Goal Achievement

Key Quotes

"Self-discipline is about managing the internal. Discipline, the way I, I talk about in the book, is about achieving that long-term goal. These are those long-term goals that are gonna take a while to achieve, and the, the external world has a say."

Rich Diviney distinguishes between self-discipline, which is internally focused on managing oneself, and discipline, which is directed toward achieving long-term goals where external factors play a significant role. Diviney explains that discipline requires adaptability and flexibility to navigate the uncertainties inherent in pursuing ambitious, externally influenced objectives.

"I'm a very unself-disciplined person. I don't have a lot, right? Um, and so what I, so I had to separate this, because I've been able to achieve a lot of goals in my life. I was like, well, what's the difference? So those with very high self-discipline, sometimes, this is not exclusive, but sometimes have trouble achieving long-term goals because because the achievement of long-term goals often takes, uh, an ability and, and by necessity to march into the unknown, into uncertainty, which is going to throw you off routine and throw you out of certainty."

Rich Diviney shares his personal experience of being unself-disciplined but still achieving goals, leading him to differentiate between self-discipline and discipline. Diviney suggests that individuals with high self-discipline may struggle with long-term goals because these pursuits often demand venturing into uncertainty, which can disrupt the structured routines that self-disciplined individuals prefer.

"The way one stays motivated towards a goal is highly subjective, but it, it would, in my, uh, kind of through my thought process and my experience, involve wanting to actively map out a reward system that helps someone move through that. Sort of creating a reward system first for the, for the goal, in order to help you stay motivated."

Rich Diviney proposes that motivation towards a goal is subjective and can be enhanced by establishing a reward system. Diviney advises proactively designing a system of rewards tied to the goal itself to maintain motivation throughout the process. This approach, according to Diviney, helps individuals stay engaged over the duration of their pursuit.

"So if you're able to effectively create a reward system that means something to you. It can't be, it can't be kind of inert, right? So if I'm gonna run a marathon, and I haven't, and I can barely run to, to my mailbox, right? Um, you know, then maybe, you know, buying some running shoes and putting them on one morning is enough of a reward system to get a dopamine hit. As someone who runs, just putting on our shoes one morning is probably not gonna give us that dopamine hit. We gotta, we gotta extend that, we gotta extend that task a little bit so that you've already accomplished a lot of something."

Rich Diviney emphasizes that a reward system must be personally meaningful and appropriately scaled to be effective. Diviney uses the example of training for a marathon to illustrate that a reward must correspond to a genuine accomplishment, noting that what constitutes a reward is subjective and depends on the individual's current capabilities and the effort expended.

"The best, the most successful people are the, those who have both self-discipline and discipline, right?"

Rich Diviney posits that the most successful individuals possess a combination of both self-discipline and discipline. Diviney suggests that integrating these two forms of discipline allows for both internal management and the effective pursuit of long-term, externally influenced goals. This blend, according to Diviney, is characteristic of high achievement.