习惯是个有力的词。养成持久自律的最好方法就是为自己设定常规。

我记得曾经有一位冥想者给我讲他在初级阶段受挫的故事。最后他绝望地向他的藏族冥想大师寻求建议。大师想了想，回答道：“习-惯——。”

“那是什么？”他仔细听大师讲，以为大师要告诉他冥想的奥秘。

“常-归——就是——一早一晚，”大师用自己蹩脚的英语说道。

“噢，是。我明白了，习惯。”

习惯并非深奥，但它又的确是冥想的奥秘。其实它是一切事物的奥秘。你如果能够形成帮助你、鼓励你培养自律的习惯，那你正向成功迈进。

再一点，这不是什么尖端科学，而是帮助过许多伟人的事实。运动员有特定的训练时间，瑜伽修行者和修道士有每天的练习时间，等等。找出适合自己的时间并且坚持下来，直至你的自律意识足够坚强，令你在不偏离轨道的前提下完成一次又一次突破。

4. Create a routine and stick to it
Routine is a powerful word. One of the best ways you can develop self-discipline that lasts is by giving yourself a routine.

I remember hearing a story from a meditation practitioner who was having trouble getting past the basic preliminarily stages. Finally he went to his Tibetan meditation teacher in sheer despair and asked him for some advice. His teacher thought for a moment and then replied, “Rou-teeeen”.

“What’s that?” he clarified with the master thinking he was about to be told the esoteric secret to meditation.

“Rou-teeeen… you know… morning and night,” the teacher said in broken English.

“Oh. Right. Gotcha. Routine.”

Routine isn’t that esoteric but it is the secret to meditation. It is the secret to just about everything. If you can get yourself in a routine that facilitates and encourages your self-discipline then you will be well on your way to victory.

Again, this is not rocket science but a simple fact that has worked for many great people. Athletes have routine training times, yogis and monks have a daily practice routine, etc. Find a routine that works for you and then stick to it until your self-discipline is strong enough that you can break it from time to time without losing track.

5.不要做过头

我想人们所犯大忌之一就是“速成”。在这个过程中把握好每一步的分寸很重要。

就 拿我高中的最后一年来说吧。我们学校在第三学期安排了多次考试，他们觉得这样我们可以有更充分的准备迎接最后的考试（也是最重要的考试），因为我们学完了 三个学期的课程。出现的问题——我在学期中考试结束后就崩溃了，精疲力竭的我考完试后骂了一句：“他妈的！”，然后放弃了。我太急于求成，根本就无法坚持 到最后的考试。

所幸即使没再学一天功课，统考的成绩也不差。确实如此。不信就去问在读这篇博客的我的朋友阿历克斯，他会说我当时每天都在他那里玩儿篮球。现在回想起来，我都不知道自己是怎么通过考试的。但对任何一个急于求成的人来说这是个一个教训：可能会精疲力竭。考虑到持久的自律，还是慢中求稳为上策。这是马拉松，而不是短跑。

5. Don’t overdo it
One of the big mistakes that I think people make is to do too much too soon. It is very important not to overdo it at any stage of the game.

Take the example of my final year in high school. Our school had midyear exams in third term because they thought it prepared us better for the finals (the one’s that count) because we had studied three terms worth of material instead of two. The problem? I burnt out after the midyears. I was so exhausted after the midyear exams that I said “F$%K it!” and gave up. I did too much too soon and there was no way of sustaining it until the end of finals.

Lucky for me I did well in the finals despite not doing a day of study. Literally. Ask my friend Alex who reads this blog and he will tell you I was down at his house playing basketball everyday. Looking back I don’t know how I even passed. But there is a lesson here for anyone who tries to do too much too soon. You run the risk of burning out. It is a much more intelligent idea to go slow and steady when it comes to long term self-discipline. It is a marathon, not a sprint race.

6.利用奖励（或者惩罚）政策

我来给你讲个故事，是我在商学院听的第一个管理专题报告。我坐在昏暗的报告厅里，周围还有600个紧张兮兮的学生。演讲者拿着麦克风喊出一句：“你如何让员工更加努力地工作？”

鸦雀无声。

“给我一个答案。你如何让公司员工努力工作？”

“给他们家薪水！”一位勇敢的学生回答道。

“聪明！”演讲者回答道。“然后很快你的公司就没了。”

接下来那位学者解释说在这个问题上大致存在两种观点，而且在很大程度上取决于你是美国人与否。研究表明美国人习惯别人说他们“可贵”，“优秀”，“无所不能”——再给与正面刺激的时候他们就会更加努力工作。而几乎所有其他国家的员工在你告诉他们无能的时候才会努力工作！

“如果你的公司在美国，”演讲者继续说道，“告你他们你做得到！如果在别处，就告诉他们根本做不到。”

尽管我对这套理论在商业界是否可行存有怀疑（对满屋的员工说他们无能，其后果我不敢肯定），但对于培养自律却是一个不错的借鉴。你是属于吃软还是吃硬的那种呢？举个例子，要让你为自己的目标工作上一个小时，是给你50美元管用，还是威胁说把你的车扣上一个星期管用？

想一想你属于哪类人，然后为你要养成的行为习惯制定一套方案。依我看，在有丰厚的奖励等待自己的时候，自律的养成是轻而易举的。

6. Use rewards (and maybe punishment)
Let me tell you a story. My first management lecture in business college. I sat down in the dark hall with 600 other nervous kids and the lecturer booms out over the mic, “How do you get workers to work harder?”

Silence.

“Come one. How do you get employees in a firm to work harder?” he repeated.

“Give them more money!” one brave kid answered.

“Brilliant!” the lecturer replied. “And soon you won’t have a firm left.”

The teacher went on to explain that there are two loose schools of thought on the matter and it depends heavily on whether you are American or not. Studies have shown that Americans are so used to being told they “worthy”, “good” and “capable of anything” that they work harder when they are given positive reinforcement. Almost every other country, on the other hand, works harder when you tell them they aren’t capable!

“If your firm is in America,” the lecturer continued, “tell them you can do it! If your firm is anywhere else, tell them they can’t.”

While I have doubts about the practical application of this theory in a business setting (I’m not sure about telling a room full of workers they suck!) it is a really good lesson for developing self-discipline. Are you the type of person who responds to punishment or rewards? I’ll give you an example. Would you be more likely to work for one hour on your personal goal if I gave you a $50 note or if I threatened to take away your car for a week?

Think about which one you are and then put a system in place to help you develop the behavior that you want. Self-discipline, in my opinion, happens quite easily when there is a nice carrot at the end of the stick.

结论

培养自律是你所从事的回报最丰厚的事业。只有通过自律你才能实现自己的理想和目标，同样，你需要尽可能重视起来。考虑一下我在指南中列出的建议，但要保证你只利用那些对自己有用的那些。习惯、奖励等等都是帮你养成持久自律的简单有效的方法。祝你好运！

Conclusion

Developing self-discipline is one of the most rewarding undertakings you will ever embark on. It is only through self-discipline that your dreams and goals can be attained and as such you should give as much attention to it as possible. Use the tips I have outlined in this guide but make sure you only apply what works for you. Routine, rewards, etc. are all simple and effective ways to help you develop self-discipline that lasts a life time. Good luck!