Again - Discipline????

 Discipline - May be all you need?

So I had this moment a few days ago where I just got a bit fed up with my consistent unhappiness. I decided a few things that day, but the general thought I had was "I need to just DO IT already" referring to living the life I wanted to live in so much as I could control it. For me that looked like this:

1. Just doing the work to make work feel more successful
2. Stopping the fruitless dating efforts (dating has really contributed to some of my depression)
3. Paint gaming back into the corner where it truly only is a "for fun" activity that fills true "free time"

So, I did all those things. But the decision wasn't the important part here, it was the DISCIPLINE to just do it. The thought I had after making the decision was "I have to do this, I do. I can't rely on anyone else to change these behaviors, I have to knuckle down and change them". In the past when I've wanted to change a behavior I've tried to run away from the things that make that behavior possible (i.e., I'd break the CD for a game that I thought was taking up too much time). Here's the problem with that I think: it is the lazy man's way out. When I break the CD what I'm saying is "I can't regulate this on my own, and I need it to be unreachable so it won't mess up my life". What I should be saying instead is "I am in control of my behaviors and decisions. I like this game, but I will only play it when it is appropriate". 

So, discipline I guess is not quite what I used to believe. It's not avoiding dangerous or unhealthy situations so intensely that you never get the chance to say no - it's tackling the dangerous and unhealthy situations so intensely that you say no when it needs to be said. 

I've been much happier the last few days. So... so far this has been working!

Today's Subjective Happiness Scale Score: 5 / 7

Instructions: For each of the following statements and/or questions, please circle the point on the scale that you feel is most appropriate in describing  you.

1. In general, I consider myself

not a very happy person 1,    2 ,   3,   4,    5,    6 ,   7 a very happy person

2. Compared to most of my peers, I consider myself

less happy 1,    2,    3,    4,    5,    6,    7 more happy

3. Some people are generally very happy. They enjoy life regardless of what is going on, getting the most out of everything. To what extent does this characterization describe you?

not at all 1,    2,    3,    4,    5,    6,    7 a great deal

4. Some people are generally not very happy. Although they are not depressed, they never seem as happy as they might be. To what extent does this characterization describe you?

not at all 1,    2,    3,    4,    5,    6,    7 a great deal

Scoring: 

To score the scale, reverse code the 4th item (i.e., turn a 7 into a 1, a 6 into a 2, a 5 into a 3, a 3 into a 5, a 2 into a 6, and a 1 into a 7), and compute the mean of the 4 items.  Norms are available in the reference below, as well as in many other publications that have used the scale (see PsycInfo).