The Power of Self-Discipline: 5-Minute Exercises to Build Self-Control, Good Habits, and Keep Going When You Want to Give Up

by Peter Hollins

Stop self-defeating behaviors and act with intention. You’ll thank yourself later.

What you receive in life is dictated by your self-discipline. The more you have, the more you get. Will you settle for less than you desire?

How to make willpower automatic, second nature, and habitual.

The Power of Self-Discipline is not a textbook on self-discipline, nor is it a gentle and drawn-out discussion. It is a toolbox to keep you in motion and in action towards your goals. It pulls no punches as it provides direct techniques to ensure that your actions match your intentions — a difficult task.

Self-discipline is not about grinding it out from morning until night. Let’s work smarter and accomplish more with less effort.

Tools to get started, keep going, overcome distractions, and follow through every single time.

Peter Hollins has studied psychology and peak human performance for over a dozen years and is a bestselling author. He has worked with a multitude of individuals to unlock their potential and path towards success. His writing draws on his academic, coaching, and research experience.

Gain self-awareness and cultivate your determination and tenacity. Immediate action has never been so easy.

•Learn the main emotional, psychological, and biological obstacles you are battling.
•Understand and break the 5-step cycle of laziness that keeps you glued to the couch, unhappier than ever.
•Confront yourself with a series of direct questions that force self-awareness and action.
•An insightful formula for maximizing willpower and how to manipulate it.
•What your discipline style is.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Personal Development, Psychology, Business, Health, Audiobook

249 pages, Paperback

First published June 20, 2021

About the author

Peter Hollins is a bestselling author, human psychology researcher, and a student of the human condition. He possesses a BS in psychology and a graduate degree.

Reviews

[Elli Izo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been keenly ripping through numerous books published by Hollins, for the comprehensive short guides, reminders, and overall, highly digestible content each offers.
Those who have fed on knowledge communicated by Gigerenzer, Kahneman, Tversky and the like would appreciate the significant value Hollins delivers to us by contrast. In that he ably condenses for the time-poor complex theories and elaborate case studies into silver bullets bearing his signature tone.
This book, in particular, cleverly uses that relatable tone in communicating ‘the pleasure principle’, ‘ avoidance activities’, ‘the power of ten’, ‘the forty percent rule’, and many other concepts. You wouldn’t take long to gain clearheadedness about your position and actions, even if you are just 10 pages deep into the book, and reading amidst a chaos.
I picked up this read just after a depressing exam and was reflecting on where I came up short in the prep process. I always have an amazing schedule on paper, which, having tracked all my cerebral activities and pursuits, was evidently seldom followed through. I started asking myself questions - Was my schedule unrealistic in the first place? Was I cutting myself too much slack? Did I defend my extended study breaks without knowing it? How often have I chosen to avoid discomfort? Why did I skip workout routine so often even though I knew I needed it daily to keep my mental energy up? Overall, it appeared quite conclusive my actions, inconsistent with my intentions and benchmark schedule, ultimately explained why the long drawn-out study sessions had me drained of power, yet came to a fruitless end.
I could have sworn had I been monitored by someone neutral, s/he would have considered my actions rather imbecilic, which I also gladly admit in retrospect. The many questions I had were quickly answered by this read. One sure-fire way to sum up what this book has to say, and taking into consideration some of my recent fails:
At any point in your waking hours, all of your problems can be simplified by making a choice between two tasks you already set out to do - one offers comfort, and the other discomfort. Go 10 minutes plus deep into the ‘discomfort’, and knowing that you will thank yourself later for it is enough to will you into action. Then repeat!

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is all pretty basic stuff, but valid for the most part and I think useful to remind me why I really shouldn't be smoking, drinking and eating junk food in front of Netflix. I'm better than that!

[jennifer fehr · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although there is some good content and reminders (basic, but relevant) I found the book lacking in structure. It felt as though it needed a thorough, edit and more focus and clarity on the points and suggestions. Additionally, there were many spelling and grammatical errors that were hard to overlook.

[Shelby Lower · Rating 1 out of 5]

The fact that it mentioned using shame and what other people will think of you as even an OPTION of helping with self-discipline and teaching your goals... 🤢 it's a no for me dawg.

[Jess Lewis · Rating 1 out of 5]

So many spelling errors!! There were a couple of useful tools I learned but overall just didn’t enjoy this book. It felt very basic. The writing was basic, felt like I could have written it myself. The spelling errors really got to me, I kept finding more and more which should be a big no no when writing and publishing a book.

[priv · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ab einem gewissen Punkt nur noch überflogen, weil sich die Dinge ständig wiederholten oder einfach dem common sense entsprechen.

Schriftart und Buchqualität miserabel. Ich weiß, es ist self-published, trotzdem sollte die Schrift dann nicht Punkt 16 und das Buch kaum auseinander zu kriegen sein. Ein Lektor hätte auch einmal drüber lesen sollen...

Jedenfalls sind gute Denkansätze drin.

[Sarah Drasner · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book. I found myself taking notes all the time. The tools he mentions are widely applicable- work goals, personal goals, how to deal with difficult people or situations. There’s no fluff in this book, it’s all reasonable and understandable. I’ll be reading this again.

[vercell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a life changing book. This book keeps your attention.

Love love this book. This booked helped me finally get off my butt start working out again 4 months strong. I don't look at my workouts the same Thanks to this book.

[Dani · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just finished this was not really what I was after. Wanted motivation with a dash of funny.

Very boring book no real life then starts to get scientific with algebra towards the end completely switched of from it

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good information. A lot of typos

[Vanya Prodanova · Rating 3 out of 5]

Началото на годината винаги е приятен момент да се надъхаш и мотивираш малко. Та, като видях, че тази книга е избраната книга за месеца в библиотеката, тоест взимаш я без чакане, си казах, че няма лошо.

Много е късичка. Може да се прочете за отрицателно време ако човек пожелае. Информацията вътре е наполовина неща, които сигурно си чувал на хиляди места преди това; една четвърт познати идеи, представени по-различен начин и една четвърт нова информация. Предполагам, че може да бъде полезна книга ако някой реши да я чете, водейки си бележки, четейки я и пробвайки идеите бавно и внимателно, за да види какво работи за него и какво не.

Уви, аз не съм от тези хора. Никога нищо няма да прочета, ако реша да чета нехудожествена литература, попивайки максимално представената информация. Просто не е нещо, което се случва. Четох я както си чета винаги - четеш и каквото ти остане в съзнанието. Мисля си, че има едно-две неща, които ще останат, но времето ще покаже.

Не е лоша книжка като цяло. Става да те понадъха, но не бих я приела много присърце. Основният недостатък е, че не е просто кратка, ами е отвъд това. В края на всяка глава има обобщение на информацията от главата и последната шеста глава е обобщение отново на идеите от всяка глава. Явно някой много се е опитвал да запълни определен минимален брой думи.

О, и не бих ги нарекла 5-минутни упражнения. Част от идеите си изискват повече време и организацията на главите е такава, че е трудно да разбереш кое точно разбира под конкретните упражнения. За уж добре организирана книга, се чувстваше доста хаотична, но вероятно просто подзаглавието не е подходящо за съдържанието.

[serena valente · Rating 2 out of 5]

First of all this is the most redundant book I’ve ever read. It’s 248 pages, there’s only 5 chapters, each chapter ends with bullet points of takeaways which is practically verbatim of what it says (minus the fluff). Then at the end of the five chapters, there’s a summary guide of each chapter. So really this book should’ve been no more than 100 pages. Way too short to keep summarizing.

There was a donut on the cover so I thought it would at least mention self discipline about eating habits: spoiler alert- it doesn’t.

The stuff written in this book is so cliche: make a pros and cons list, make a vision board, if you want to buy a sweater ask yourself if you really need it, self interrogate and ask yourself bla bla bla, choose pain(discomfort) over pleasure in the short term for your future self…

I learned nothing. I could’ve gotten more out of asking ChatGPT. Also, there were so many spelling errors.

[Joe Dalton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gave me some fresh perspectives to think about when it comes to self discipline but overall it was nothing earth shattering. The writing wasn't as engaging as I would've liked but I still appreciated the nuggets of knowledge that it gave me.

[Tonya ॐ · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some good points and examples, but ultimately this felt like reading a college essay that’s been ‘spiffed’ to fit the word count.

[Katie Novak]

This self-help book is designed to give you quick 5 minute or so ideas or changes to implement in your life to have more self-discipline. Whether you are trying to lose weight, make a change at work or try something new, this book is a good reminder of the little things can take be done that don't much time in the moment, but over time can change your outlook to be more productive and self-satisfied with your goals.

[Cierra Grohler · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was so basic, nothing new learned

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great self help book. It obviously talks about self-discipline, which is something most people need help with. This book book helped me understand that every decision I make, I am either trying to gain pleasure or avoid pain. This book also called me out in several ways and helped me understand some of the things I do that are actually setting me back. One example is what the author calls "avoidance activities". It wasn't until I read this book, that I became conscious of every time I do it. An example is when you need to study for a test but you don't want to, so instead you clean your room to make yourself feel productive. It is the activities that you don't necessarily need to do right now, but you do them in order to feel better about what you are avoiding. I realized I do this almost daily. This book gives 5-minute exercises to help build self-control and mental formulas to think about everyday. It teaches you to think twice before you make decisions like "If I do this will it bring me closer to or further from my goals?"... Overall, a great self help book.

[Bea · Rating 3 out of 5]

decent

There was a lot of good nuggets within here, however it was repetitive. There were also typos throughout and the audible narration skipped out sentences.

[Leslie Lopez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good reminders, of discipline we should already be aware of. It was repetitive and boring.

[Abdullah Mofied · Rating 1 out of 5]

This review includes my personal opinion on the type of self-development books in general, based on experience..
I strongly believe that types of these books are boring to read it.
The tips mentioned didn't add anything new.
I think If it was a podcast it would be better.

[Dr Wayne Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read!

I liked the down to earth simple yet effective explanations and exercise guides Peter Hollis uses to encourage the reader on the self-discipline journey.

[Mia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Useless, badly written, amateurish, some basic info with lot of empty fillers, nothing new, dragged out, repetitive, boring ...

[Nina Krebs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everything in there is true and i liked the condensed chapter summaries, but nothing really new.

[Kelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked the overall message. Just had a hard time enjoying the layout of the book itself.

[Leeann Ryder · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a hard time taking it, serious with all of the spelling and grammar errors.

[Dominique Posada-Wilcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like it just tells you everything you already know you need to do

[Allie · Rating 3 out of 5]

More reasons why you aren’t disciplined than solutions to stay disciplined.

[Helena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got a lot out of this read. I’m very disciplined when it comes to physical actions (i.e. waking up early, working out, eating healthy, cleaning, limiting screen time etc), but I’ve been struggling with tasks that require a lot of mental energy. I’m currently balancing the work of my last semester in Grad School and I started at a new high school which I love, but is all new preps. I often feel like a 1st year teaching again (despite it being year 11).

I have ADHD and stopped taking adderall about 2 years ago. Since then, it’s been difficult to get and stay focused on course/school work. Like many people with ADHD, I can procrastinate until the last minute as I get so anxious about the idea of doing the work, that I put it off until it HAS to get done and feed off of the adrenaline. I wanted to change that.

This book does a great way of not only understanding WHY discipline is important, but also HOW to stay disciplined. I’ve already started on my thesis and research which isn’t due until end of April, so I feel like I’m able to actually apply what I’ve learned! I’d recommend if you’re looking to become disciplined in any area.

[suzanne 🌷 · Rating 4 out of 5]

🔑 key takeaways -
the connection of delayed gratification to your mindset on how you view your life; the past, present, or future. the link between: A) doing things solely to make your present different from your past, B) doing things to feel good in the present (instant gratification) and C) taking action for your future self.
the importance of momentum - a result of discipline and the tiniest smidge of motivation.
discomfort as the evidence of change & growth
how the human tendency is to undervalue those benefits that only materialize in your future. simply said: human's are shit at visualization & are creatures of instant gratification

overall, this was a good manual on self discipline, and the neuroscience behind it. a quick read and decently written

[Nieya · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an "OKAY" read. Not life changing but definitely life affirming. This book reminded me of a lot of mental MAPS and boundaries I already use to keep myself focused, like habit stacking, counting to ten before you act or react, and the benefits of planning (less stress, more focus, increased energy, esteem and confidence). The things I disliked about this book was that it has LOTS of run on sentences, and LOTS of typos. Towards the end it really felt like the author was on a time crunch and just threw the last words few words into place. A solid 3/5, don't rush to add this to your TBR but don't gift or toss it if you already own it.

Goodluck!