How I Became More Disciplined and Consistent — and How You Can Too
Building discipline: Reza Mehman explains how he developed discipline and consistency through one daily habit rather than radical changes. His vaulted-cellar analogy and the Navy SEAL example show how small steps can lead to bigger changes.
Originally published on 15 November 2024. This is a translation of the complete published article, including all its conversation paragraphs.
Building Discipline Through Daily Habits
Reza Mehman explains how he developed discipline and consistency through one daily habit rather than radical changes. His vaulted-cellar analogy and the Navy SEAL example show how small steps can lead to bigger changes. His conclusion: “Choose one thing you want to do every day — and believe me, after practising it for many days, you move into a different phase of life.”
Summary
In one sentence: Reza Mehman explains how a single daily habit builds discipline and consistency, using a vaulted-cellar analogy and a Navy SEAL example.
In three sentences: Reza Mehman has experienced radical changes failing. His solution is one daily habit as a “keystone”, like the one in a vaulted cellar. His conclusion: “Choose one thing you want to do every day.”
In five sentences: Reza Mehman has experienced radical changes failing: “I was exhausted by all the tasks I had set myself.” His solution is one daily habit as a “keystone”, like the one in a vaulted cellar. The Navy SEAL example is to make your bed first and start the day with a win. His tip is to train a “muscle”, for example by writing down five business ideas every day. His conclusion: “Choose one thing you want to do every day — and every other area of life benefits from it.”
Context: Who, What and Why
Who is speaking: Reza Mehman, host of the Project Mindset podcast.
What this is about: Building discipline and consistency through one daily habit instead of radical changes.
Why it matters: Many people struggle to sustain radical changes. Reza shares a practical approach that worked for him.
Three central themes in this episode:
- Why radical changes fail.
- The vaulted-cellar analogy: a habit as a keystone.
- The Navy SEAL example: starting the day with a win.
Contents
- Introduction
- Summary
- Context
- Themes and perspective
- Key takeaways
- Frequently asked questions
- Highlight quotes
- The published conversation
- Keywords
- Names and terms
- Quotable passage
Themes and Perspective
1. Why radical changes fail
Reza has experienced radical changes failing: “I was exhausted by all the tasks I had set myself, so I stopped after a few days.” It is a little like New Year’s Day: you take on too much and soon give up.
Keywords: radical change, failure, New Year, exhaustion, habits
2. The vaulted-cellar analogy
Reza explains that hundreds of stones are placed alongside one another in a vaulted cellar. Yet only the keystone in the middle makes the structure self-supporting. He sees a daily habit working in the same way: one thing you do every day becomes the keystone supporting everything else.
Keywords: vaulted cellar, keystone, habit, analogy, consistency
3. The Navy SEAL example
A Navy SEAL starts his day by making his bed. Reza says: “He knows he has completed his first and most important task, so he can start the day with a big win.” Reza’s tip is to train a “muscle”, for example by writing down five business ideas every day.
Keywords: Navy SEAL, making the bed, win, muscle, discipline
Key Takeaways
- Radical changes can fail: “I was exhausted by all the tasks.”
- The vaulted-cellar analogy: a habit as the keystone supporting everything.
- The Navy SEAL example: start the day with a win, such as making your bed.
- “Choose one thing you want to do every day.”
- “I am one hundred per cent sure that, if you do this over a longer period, every other area of your life benefits from it.”
- The biggest challenge is focus in an age full of distractions.
- Train a muscle: five business ideas a day means 1,825 in a 365-day year, or nearly 2,000 as Reza rounds it in the conversation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can you build discipline and consistency?
Reza Mehman says: “Choose one thing you want to do every day, and believe me, after practising it for many days, you move into a different phase of life.” The approach is one daily habit instead of radical changes, like the keystone in a vaulted cellar that makes the whole structure self-supporting.
What is the Navy SEAL example for starting the day?
A Navy SEAL starts his day by making his bed. Reza Mehman says: “He knows he has completed his first and most important task, so he can start the day with a big win.” The principle is to begin with a small but meaningful task to build momentum.
Why do radical changes fail?
Reza Mehman says: “I was exhausted by all the tasks I had set myself, so I stopped after a few days.” It is a little like New Year’s Day: you take on too much and soon give up. His solution is a single daily habit instead of radical changes in every area of life at once.
Highlight Quotes
“Choose one thing you want to do every day — and believe me, after practising it for many days, you move into a different phase of life.”
— Reza Mehman
“I am one hundred per cent sure that, if you do this over a longer period, every other area of your life benefits from it.”
— Reza Mehman
“He knows he has completed his first and most important task, so he can start the day with a big win.”
— Reza Mehman on the Navy SEAL example
The Published Conversation
Introduction: The Kevin Hart Quote
Reza Mehman: I relate one hundred per cent to this statement from Kevin Hart: I know what it is like to get up every day, try to give your best every day, and feel as though you are making no progress at all. In today’s podcast, I want to talk about exactly that: how important it is to build discipline and consistency so you can get a little closer to your goals.
Why Radical Changes Fail
Reza Mehman: We all want to be successful, and we all want to be happy in life. Sometimes we see advice telling us: hey, you have to get up at five every morning, go jogging, take a cold shower, have a proper breakfast, meditate, journal, and so on. I have to admit that I tried this a few years ago. I decided to make a kind of radical change in every area of my life. And you can probably guess what happened: I was exhausted by all the tasks I had set myself, so I stopped after a few days. It was a little like New Year’s Day. You make a huge number of resolutions, do them for a few days, and then realise: oh no, this is a bit too exhausting after all.
The Vaulted-Cellar Analogy
Reza Mehman: Here is an interesting analogy. You know those vaulted cellars: the ceilings form a gentle arch, with lots of stones placed alongside one another to create it. While you are building them, they are not self-supporting at first. That changes when you put the keystone into the middle. Only then is the entire structure self-supporting. You place hundreds, thousands of stones together, but it really comes down to that final stone. I thought I would build my personal habits in roughly the same way. I stopped saying that I would immediately do ten or fifteen important things every morning. Instead, I focus on one thing that is essential to me — and I do that one thing every day.
The Navy SEAL Example
Reza Mehman: I once saw a video on social media in which a Navy SEAL talked about how he starts his day. The very first thing he does is make his bed. Before doing anything else, he makes his bed, shakes it out and straightens the duvet. He knows he has completed his first and most important task, so he can start the day with a big win.
Training a Muscle
Reza Mehman: I once read about an entrepreneur who trains his brain muscle, for example, by writing down five business ideas every day. He genuinely makes it a daily obligation: before I start my day, I will write down five business ideas. If he does that for a year, he ends up with nearly 2,000 business ideas. Because he has trained his muscle in that direction, this person is capable of coming up with 2,000 business ideas in the first place.
The Biggest Challenge: Focus
Reza Mehman: I know that one of our biggest problems today is how extremely difficult it is to focus on one thing. We have so many possibilities, so many opportunities, that we do not know what to do. The computer wants to distract us, podcasts want to distract us, and books want to distract us. The hardest thing today is to focus on one thing.
Conclusion and Encouragement
Reza Mehman: Today’s podcast episode is dedicated to everyone facing this challenge: you try every day to get closer to your goals somehow, but you are not quite sure whether you are making any progress. My recommendation is this: choose one thing you want to do every day, and believe me, after practising it for many days, you move into a different phase of life. Thank you for listening. Until next time. Bye, bye.
Keywords
Tags: discipline, consistency, habits, mindset, Reza Mehman, Navy SEAL, vaulted cellar
Names and Terms
Reza Mehman, Kevin Hart, Navy SEAL, vaulted cellar, keystone, discipline, consistency, habits, Project Mindset
Quotable Passage
Reza Mehman: “Choose one thing you want to do every day — and believe me, after practising it for many days, you move into a different phase of life.”
“I am one hundred per cent sure that, if you do this over a longer period, every other area of your life benefits from it.”
For another personal perspective, read episode 151 on self-confidence and the Wall of Confidence.
