Swami ji as students we face this and I am sure that all the students here
face this now you know there are so many distractions pulling at her minds from
all different directions you have ten things on your mind and how can we
increase our self-control and willpower
self-control willpower discipline they are almost synonymous our ability to
succeed is not obstructed by hindrances on the path but by easier ways to a
lower goal in other words there's a lower goal and that's what prevents us
from striving for a higher goal if you wish to reach out for the stars
you need the discipline the self-control the willpower to desist from something
that is giving immediate gratification whether it's saying okay this shot is
enough forget it I'll not try harder because trying harder is painful it
requires overcoming yourself when I was your age roughly there was an athlete
who got imprinted in my mind Edwin Moses with the specs yes
400 meter hurdles right so he held the record and track and field for the
maximum number of successes successful racists about 122 words yes yes it's
very interesting somebody asked him what is the key to your success he said I
have a greater ability to tolerate pain than the others in other words he
realized that when you train you have to tolerate pain you have to bear with me
in the mind and the senses are screaming come on forget it but if you can
tolerate that pain as the saying goes that belies
cessful men were not made by a sudden flight but while their friends slept
they were toiling upwards in the night so this quality of discipline is so
important Himanshu your question is how to enhance
it how to grow it if you permit me to go into a little bit of the human
physiology our human brain in relation to the body weight is the maximum
amongst mammals but what makes it special is this prefrontal cortex which
enables us to do the right thing even though it's more painful and to desist
from the wrong thing even though it is pleasurable this prefrontal cortex
provides you with the willpower that is so essential to being human animals
don't have that fortunately for us this brain has a neuroplastic nature in other
words you can enhance it if you play tennis the portions of the brain that
are required for tennis start developing gray matter gets back there if you keep
on trying at mats you will find the portion of your brain that is required
for mats becomes denser in the same way if you keep exercising your willpower
you will find it grows stronger and stronger the students ask me Swamiji how
to develop focus I say every time the mind wanders bring it back every time it
wanders bring it back just like you develop your biceps you will develop
this prefrontal cortex and enhance your control
if you are ambitious to be a highly disciplined person try out this little
exercise it's so simple just try and meditate meditation is an exercise in
self-control it requires three things I want what is my goal awareness of it
second I won't the mind is distracted you bring it back that hurt I will I
will keep my mind here those three things develop your willpower if you
practice meditation for three hours you will find the configuration of your
brain has changed and if you do a little bit every day for a couple of months you
will be a transformed person his success is not a secret to any of us
Swamiji spoke about the importance of discipline and self-control
so to what extent do you feel that you know self-discipline and control
contributed to your success you know a lot of people say discipline when we
talk of discipline I think the four or five things that come come to mind is
you know you've got to be on time you've got to know your lines you got to be
professional and you've got to take care of yourself health-wise only then can
you perform well throughout the day and well that's that's really really
important I don't think you're doing anyone a favor by landing up on time so
anybody says he is very professional he comes on time thank you very much no
biggie you were supposed to be here on time you agree or not yeah whoa you're
not doing me a favor you've been paid to be there behind a clock I think it
should be there earlier than nine o'clock so that you calm yourself down
rather than go running on a set say I was on time no because you didn't the
right mindset to then perform do you know your lines you are supposed to do
you're not supposed to learn your lines when you're on the set you're actually
supposed to know your lines a month in advance because you can play with them
in your in in your head and give it different meanings and different colors
so being professional and discipline it's no biggie you're not doing anyone a
favor I think discipline should be something
that's a very personal thing that comes from within is I hope I'm not trying to
sound like a good guy saying this but but here Mia when I do a shot
all right and I feel that I had a better shot in me and you know it when you do
something you know you had a better answer or a better approach to that shot
and the director says great next just because you are tired or you're hungry
you don't say okay let's move on you put your hands together and ask director
allow me one more shot I think that is discipline of an ethic I
knew I had a better shot I don't know what it is and I try to me the
discipline of ethics is very important to your work because you will be unhappy
if you did not do that one extra shot give me one more please I'll never
forget I was I was shooting for three idiots I was shooting for three idiots
and I eye my eyes my eyes had popped out crying and I was trying very hard you
know after a while the tears didn't come the tears weren't coming because my eyes
were dry and I am scraping the bottom of the barrel to do a better shot in the
end and I am putting and I'm scratching myself with glycerin which I had never
done in my life before and I and I did the shot and my eyes are raging and
everything is fine but I said there was no soul that to me
is the discipline that I seek within myself so
I go back to the director and said all that was fine but I don't want to do
this shot with glycerine I'm sorry and he said okay let's break for lunch so
great we come back and do the shot miserable so to me I sat and every
single thing I remember as I learned as an actor or also as a human being that
brought pain and anguish to me I gathered it together it's like a prayer
you gathered it together I came back and I said let me do this one shot without
the glycerine it's important to me it's important to my ethnic on the screen
nobody'll know the difference but it's important to me and I did that shot and
I smiled at the director Raju and he said even that was okay that was better
maybe I said no for me this is better because there's honesty that's all
you