Giovanni Dienstmann's Mindful Self-Discipline: A Guide to Living with Purpose and Achieving Your Goals

Joseph Mitchell III: I am so impressed with the depth on this book and the accompanying materials. Giovanni makes it so simple to dive deep into self-discipline by making it as practical as possible and providing end of chapter summaries, diagrams and a host of linked materials including a fabulous phone app. He explains self-discipline in a simple, non-threatening way that makes me feel that I can easily increase my discipline. And notably he ties the process to mindfulness and spirituality so that it is much more appealing to me that the marine type approach. All in all, I love this book...it will empower you if you let it!

United States on Aug 11, 2023

Pieter: Useful, well-written, eye opening and relatively easy to implement and stick to core elements. Not 5 stars because it is also, even for this subject, verbose. Do subscribe to his newsletter and use his meditation videos.

Germany on Aug 07, 2023

Andrea Schmitt: This book should be in anyone's shelf. It's very well written and easy to read and follow. The author really knows what he is talking about. The author added many images, too.

Germany on Jul 26, 2023

PMH: I bought this book based on comments left by other reviewers. I definitely need some help in this area these days. I have just so far gone through the table of contents and a quick walk through the chapters. Now with paper and pen, I plan to read in depth and make notes to help with my situation. I can see how much work the author has put into making this very useful for readers. I am impressed and will likely go on to learn more about the author and his other work.

Canada on Apr 08, 2023

Cory Lowe: I'm really loving this book. It's very practical.

I love the ending, how he ties it into spirituality, without being specific around religion. Self-Discipline (working hard and serving others) is related to spirituality (religion is a specific flavor), and spirituality is exercised and understood through Self-Discipline. The last chapters of this book explain it really well.

I'm a Christian. He brings home what I have always felt. A deep connection between self-discipline and spirituality. The two feed into each other. That's why I wanted to write this book. If you wanted to better understand how religion ties to self-discipline, (this is how I experience religion), then get this book. Even better for Abrahamic religions, because he is heavily influenced by eastern religions, but talks in a general way, so you may learn new things that aren't has heavily influenced at your church/church mosque (breathing techniques, health, etc).

A strength (and weakness) of this book is it has so much content...so many techniques. So you will get overwhelmed. He addressees this at the beginning. I recommending you skim the chapters on the three pillars. Do a few read...

United States on Mar 14, 2023

John: I really liked it. I create a summary with exercices and interesting thoughts and quotes that helping me to strengthen my willpower. And it's working.

France on Oct 21, 2022

Sonya: If you’re only going to purchase one book to help you achieve your goals in life, make sure it’s this one.

This is, in short, a brilliant book. When it comes to books on clarifying your values, finding your purpose, identifying and committing to your goals, different methods and habits to help you achieve them, cultivating the correct mindset, etc. I’ve probably read most of the popular ones. This book is by far the best of the bunch. Somehow, unlike most “self-help” titles, the author manages to inspire you to take total responsibility for your life, without any of the accompanying self-blame or shame that so often comes with these sorts of titles.

The book is very clearly written and structured and progresses logically and easily from one section to the next. There’s step by step instructions for the recommendations throughout, so you know exactly how you can take action, and don’t get stuck in "analysis paralysis." There’s also lots of helpful diagrams throughout for more visual learners, and a summary of the key points at the end of each chapter, so it’s easy to go back and revise the main concepts.

I've made a lot of positive changes in...

Australia on Jan 31, 2022

Lisa: This book taught me that self discipline can be POSITIVE and EMPOWERING, rather than restrictive. I think one of the reasons I had such low self-discipline in the past is because I perceived it as a negative/harsh restriction one puts on themselves, rather than an empowering skill of alignment and focus as expertly taught by Dienstmann, a highly experienced and classically trained meditation teacher.

Which leads me to my other point. Mindful Self Discipline (MSD) has helped me to greatly increase my ability to sustain focus (in work, during exercise, conversations, unpleasant tasks, etc.) and to ENJOY the process and experience of focused effort even when it's temporarily painful (e.g., exercise).

In the past, my aversion to the anticipated pain of focused effort led to severe procrastination and distraction. MSD teachings shifted my perception to actually look forward to the painful/boring tasks because I know they are +1's toward my goals and strengthening my self-discipline for the future. MSD has freed me from negative patterns and thoughts more profoundly than any other approach (therapy, antidepressants, meditation alone, willpower alone, affirmations, other...

United States on Jun 13, 2021