What if Discipline is the Problem?

Discipline is praised as the key to productivity. But what if it’s the very thing holding you back?

“Discipline” seems to be the hot ticket to productivity today. I see so many people convinced it is the only way to make themselves act when they need to.

But what the heck is it?

In general, discipline refers to self-control, the ability to get yourself to do what you do not want to do, or keep doing what you do not like. In other words, the skillset needed to act in spite of resistance.

This sounds like a good thing, right? It is, as a skill. But a skillset built on friction will always burn out.

Most people, when they realize they have a “discipline problem,” rush to fix it from the outside. They install another app, collect hacks, follow routines, chase systems.

When that fails, they are told to “push through resistance,” to brute-force their way into action. It works for a while. But it also breeds guilt (“Why can’t I just do it?”), shame (“What’s wrong with me?”), and despair (“Will I ever be consistent?”).

The real problem was never the lack of discipline.
It was the presence of resistance.

Resistance is the internal charge wrapped around the task itself, emotional friction that keeps action from flowing.

Forcing yourself to move without neutralizing that charge is like slapping a bandage on a broken leg. You might stand for a moment, but you will not walk far.

External tools have their place. We all need them. We all use them.
But they are only half the story.

Until you master the internal side of productivity, the skillset that deals directly with resistance, every system will eventually collapse under its own friction.

The alternative to discipline is not laziness, chaos, or lack of standards.
It is clarity without conflict.

When resistance shows up, most people either obey it (by procrastinating) or fight it (through discipline). Both options keep them trapped in the same polarity: obey or oppose. Either way, resistance is still in control.

The third option, the one almost no one talks about, is to neutralize resistance.

This begins with awareness. Notice how every task you resist comes wrapped in a story: what it means about you, what it might cost, how it might feel. That story is what holds the charge.

When you strip it away and see the task in objectively neutral, factual terms, the charge dissolves. Action becomes natural.

EXAMPLE
You need to call a disgruntled client. You keep putting it off because you fear the conversation will be difficult and possibly even contentious.

On top of that, you don’t even like this client. He is fussy and tends to find fault where no fault exists.

The fear and drag you feel are the resistance itself.

You can either brute-force your way and make the call with dread and annoyance, or you can start to think of the call in its objectively factual way: I need to call this person and discuss the project.

That’s it. That is really all the task is: you calling and speaking to another person about a subject.

When you think of the task neutrally, the emotional charge around it naturally turns neutral as well. You then have no reason not to act.

So you pick up the phone, not because you forced yourself, but because the internal resistance simply isn’t there anymore.

When you master this, you do not need discipline or force to “get yourself” to do anything.
Once you begin taking the charge out of what you resist, action that once felt impossible becomes organic and authentic.

Not because you forced yourself, but because there is nothing left to fight.

You do not have to whip yourself into action. You do not need a louder alarm or a stricter routine.

The first step is to learn how to take the charge out of what you are resisting.

Discipline might get you started, but it will never make you free.
Freedom comes when you stop arguing with your own resistance.

The best part?
Neutralizing resistance is simple.
You do not need hours of meditation or complicated steps.

⋯

Start Today

1. Pick one task you have been avoiding.

2. Identify the story you have been telling yourself about it.

3. Strip away the story, the judgments, and the beliefs.

4. Describe it in purely factual, neutral terms.

This is how you start.

⋯

Not sure?
Give it a try and see what shows up.

Did the task feel lighter? Clearer?
I am genuinely curious how this lands for you.

Reply and let me know what you discovered.
Your experience might help another reader see resistance in a new way.

Cheers,
Alessandra

If this resonated, you’ll like what I share on X. I post daily about the Frictionless Mindset. Please follow me. → @FrictionlessNow

Not already subscribed? Join here →

If you know someone who wants to produce more and struggle less, forward this newsletter to them. Productivity grows when you share it.

The Productivity Manifesto is here!
It’s a mindset-first approach to productivity that neutralizes resistance and installs a foundation that makes every productivity tool, system, and app work better.

👉 Get the book on Amazon →