A Self-discipline Upgrade

Leo Babauta shares his ideas on how to deal with a lack of discipline on Zen Habits. Generally I love this man's ideas. He seems to be a man who thinks and commits. However, this time, I don't agree.

Although I am often viewed as a man with self-discipline, I constantly feel that I'm not there yet. And in trying to get more "discipline" I went into the walls (or illusions) Leo's talking about in the very article. Do I stop? Or do I torture myself with the idea of self-improvement?

I would say that with a already well-disciplined person, Leo's advice would work out well; however, when I can clearly see the spot of improvement (e.g., wasting too much time surfing the internet), I would definitely go for it. I have long lost the habit of wandering around the bookstores--there are more efficient ways to get knowledge; and I currently have no internet connection on weekends, which I find not as unbearable as one would expect from the beginning. There are times when you should just forgive yourself, but don't give up if you can see the PATH. Motivation, making things easy, and focusing on the fun are all good tips--sometimes. But there are times when you feel that you need super motivations to get going, because some tasks are so boring... Yet the achievement (and joy) from trudging through and finally crashing the obstacles can be overwhelming. And I always believe that if I keep entertaining myself, I will stay where I am and cannot improve. The idea of improving everyday has become my biggest motivation. As little as this motivation may seem, it works for me (at least half of the time).

Personality Quiz

I took the 43 Things Personality Quiz and found out I'm a

Traveling Creative Self-Knower

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This is by far the least accurate quiz I've taken! Perhaps I misled the quiz designer by ticking the "lived in another country" box. I, however, lived in England for one year for my academic study, and wasn't very satisfied with the lifestyle... Other than this experience, I absolutely dislike the kind of "traveling" which everyone seems to enjoy. I don't like to go to random beautiful places, and I don't like to take photos of random beautiful scenery. I go to new places for food, or to experience my (Wikipedia) reading in real life. This is the reason why I enthusiastically explored the Temple Church twice and took many photos.

By the way, the most accurate test I've taken is the MBTI, multiple times at different places, and have always been an NTP. Recently I switched from INTP to ENTP! But I'd say that I'm actually something in between. Anyway, the I/ENTP's do have an interesting way of life, and is very productive at the same time, about which I'm preparing to blog a lot!