In Karen’s last post here at Blogging Web 2.0, she mentioned some of the problems many bloggers and would be online entrepreneurs have in getting things done or taking on new ideas even when they are practically fail-proof and are given away for free.

The one point that inspired me to write this was that of self discipline.

Self discipline is a tough one to master especially if you’ve lived your life not having to hone that particular skill. That’s because it won’t come naturally and if anything your own mindset will reject it as an unnatural way of behaving.

Very tough.

So I thought I’d take a line from my own perspective. I’m one of those who stubbornly rejects the idea of stuffy rules and rigidity in all things. The very thought of placing myself in the situation where I would have to completely re-think my whole character and personality traits in order to conform to someone else’s idea of how I should plan and execute my time is totally foreign to me.

Naturally I would totally reject it.

To even try to change my mode of thinking to embrace self discipline would cause me so much stress and confusion that it would have a completely negative effect on my workload. It would certainly reduce my ability to do what I do now but even more importantly would hamper and even restrict my creative abilities. That would be so counter-productive as to render me useless!

So what would be the point?

I’m not saying that it wouldn’t work for others, simply that it would not work for me. The old saying “One man’s meat is another man’s poison” springs to mind here and adapts perfectly to a situation where one person’s mode of working may seem completely haphazard and undisciplined to another person to whom a more rigid and disciplined approach works very well.

Horses for courses!

Terry Didcott
Author and Co-Owner of Blogging Web 2.0

Filed under: Writing