Self-discipline is difficult. There’s no way around it.
Self-discipline is regarded as a sign of professionalism and confidence, especially in the business world. Professionalism requires being on time, responsive, efficient, creative, active, productive, and conscientious… not to be satisfied with the bare minimum
You must “do what you say and say what you do,” which means not promising the unattainable, being practical, competent, and meeting deadlines in order to complete the objective. It’s not the end of the world if you have trouble with self-control. You can get back on track and become more efficient by doing a few simple measures.
He realised that even the greatest of us will struggle to develop and sustain self-discipline, he understood. This is a lifelong battle, but it should become easier over time if you practice it on a daily basis.
Self-discipline is a gigantic and Herculean undertaking in and of itself, but some people make it far more difficult than it needs to be. They sabotage their own efforts in a number of ways.
Each of us is a unique individual. It’s best to do what’s right for you when trying to form positive habits (which is what building self-discipline is all about).
Weight loss is a common issue where most individuals go wrong. There are so many options for losing weight that you’ll be spoilt for choice.
If everyone you know is following the keto diet and you decide to give it a shot (because your friends say it’s amazing), but you despise eating all that fat with your meals, following the plan will be difficult.
It will be easier to build fasting as a part of your self-discipline than it will be to stick to your keto diet.
The same can be said of other habits. Some folks accomplish their finest work first thing in the morning. Others might rather work late at night. You’ll be fighting your natural circadian rhythm if you force yourself to get up early merely because others believe it works.
Rather than striving to work against yourself, you should be disciplined and work with your natural inclinations.
Life is a breeze inch by inch. Life is difficult, yard by yard. You may believe that making drastic changes in your life will help you advance more quickly. In actuality, this is ineffective and will just cause you to stumble.
You’ll experience uncontrollable food cravings if you try to adjust your diet overnight. Working out too intensely too soon can result in significant muscle aches and even injuries.
The final result is that you continue to succumb to food cravings, or you miss workouts or put things off at work. These mistakes can make you feel bad, and you will be tempted to give up.
It’s best to take things slowly and create modest beneficial changes that you can manage on a daily basis. You’ll be far more likely to stay on course, and over time, your entire life will change.
Keep a journal and make a list of the habits you want to develop. This will assist you in keeping track of your progress.
If you skip a day, begin again the next day and try to complete another 60 days.
Development takes time, and most people are overconfident in their ability to achieve a lot in a short period of time. It will take considerably longer than you expect in practice.
Staying on track and making progress (even though it may be slow) until you achieve your goal is what self-discipline is all about.
You’re certain to make a mistake at some point. It happens to all of us, and it always happens. This isn’t a symptom of laziness or a lack of willpower.
Breaking old habits can be difficult, and you’ll always face opposition. We’re all human, so we’re bound to make mistakes now and then.
It will take time to develop self-discipline. You’ll achieve mastery over your ideas and actions over time if you allow yourself that time and don’t work against yourself.
Once established in your life, these positive practices should provide better alternatives to your previous habits. When the feel the urge to revert to past dangerous habits like drug and alcohol abuse, you can turn to these things instead.
It’s easier to turn your goals into achievements when you have self-discipline. The first step toward becoming self-disciplined and successful is to recognize the relationship between success and self-discipline.
It’s not a problem at all if you don’t have as much self-discipline as you’d like. You can begin by becoming more self-disciplined than where you are today. All you need to do now is take that initial step and keep moving forward one step at a time.
Whatever errors and blunders you’ve made previously, you can always make better choices right here, right now.
“Small disciplines repeated with consistency everyday lead to great achievements gained slowly over time.” – John Maxwell.
As you can see, self-discipline is an important skill to master, and if you want to increase your power of self discipline then check out the featured resource below for a free detailed report; download, read it and take action 😊
Becoming self-disciplined is a process, and the quality of being disciplined is like a skill. The more you practice it, the better you’ll get at it.
Generally, the fundamentals are the same no matter which book you read.
This article will simplify the process for you so that you can get started today without having to read a 200-page book.
So, are you ready to boost your self discipline? OK, let’s get started…
If you don’t know where you’re going, you’re not going to get anywhere. In order for you to exercise self-discipline, you’ll need a goal that challenges you – and most worthwhile goals will.
Are you trying to lose weight? Or do you want financial freedom? Maybe you want to be a better parent? Or become a popular author?
The goal doesn’t matter as much as having one. List a few goals that you’ve always wanted to achieve.
Once you have the list, it’s time to focus on one goal. If you’re ambitious, you can focus on 2 or 3 goals. But you shouldn’t bite off more than you can chew.
So, it’s best to only focus on one or two goals at a time and give it our best when it comes to being disciplined.
It’s important to know why you want to achieve the goals you have set for yourself. Dig deep and find out the emotional reason behind your desire. For example, if you’re trying to lose weight – it might be because you want to appear attractive to the opposite sex.
There are no right or wrong answers here, but it’s imperative that you know your “why” for achieving the goal. When the going gets tough, you’ll need to look at why you’re doing what you’re doing – and this will motivate you to stay disciplined, so you achieve your goal.
Very often, if you’re not where you want to be, it’s because something is broken in your daily life. Almost always, it comes down to your habits.
Maybe you’re eating too much junk food which explains your excess weight. Maybe you’re spending uncontrollably, and that’s why you’re in debts.
Once you know what habits you need, it’s a matter of harnessing self-discipline to achieve them.
It’s always best to make small, gradual improvements. Trying to climb a mountain in a day is impossible and you’ll just end up quitting.
By taking small steps daily towards your goals, you’ll ultimately achieve them. So, build self-discipline by completing small tasks first. Then slowly and surely keep seeking improvement until you’re unstoppable.
Having a plan will mean that you know what you need to do daily. A routine is crucial for success. Your mind loves structure. By giving it a daily plan to follow, you’ll build the habits you need to achieve your goals.
These efforts will compound, and you’ll reach your goal much faster.
Aim for 85% to 95% compliance with your routine and habits. No matter how disciplined you are, you will make a mistake and give in to temptation here and there.
If your compliance is 85 percent and above, you’ll definitely be on track to achieving your goals.
Find an accountability partner who will hold you accountable to the actions you are determined to achieve, and if for some reason you’re not quite on track, they can help you to get back on track
Willpower can fail you at times. You may suddenly binge eat at night because you can’t control your food cravings.
Or you may skip a workout because you just had a fight with your spouse and you’re not in the mood. Or maybe you binge watched a Netflix show and neglected to do your work because the show hooked you.
These things happen. You must forgive yourself and carry on moving forward.
They then decide to just let themselves go and carry on with the bad habits and give up on their goal. All because they slipped up once and think it’s ‘game over’.
It’s not. You still have some ways to go. Acknowledge your mistake and analyze why you slipped up.
Maybe you need to remove all snacks from your kitchen, so you don’t binge eat at night. Or maybe you should workout first thing in the morning, so you don’t skip your training sessions.
Once you figure out a way to rectify future mistakes, you’ll increase your compliance and prevent future slip-ups. Self-discipline is easier when conditions are right.
Last but not least, all worthy goals take time to achieve. Consistent effort over time creates greatness.
If it were fast and easy, everyone would do it. The reward comes from the way things are set up. You must pay the price for your goal. That price is sweat, effort, time, consistency, patience, and self-discipline.
Keep these 9 tips in mind when trying to become self-disciplined. Discipline is doing what needs to be done, even when you don’t want to do it. It won’t be easy… but it will be worth it.
As you can see, self-discipline is an important skill to master, and if you want to increase your power of self discipline then check out the featured resource below for a free detailed report; download, read it and take action 😊
Building self-discipline is a process that’s never-ending. It doesn’t matter if you’re a monk who is meditating on a mountaintop or the CEO or a multinational corporation – you’ll always be encountering challenges when it comes to self-discipline.
The question you’ll need to ask yourself is – “Why am I trying to build self-discipline?”
Self-discipline doesn’t exist in isolation. It has to be applied. Where you apply it will be determined by your goals.
Below, you’ll find 7 things that most people need to exercise discipline with…
Having a daily routine is a MUST. If you live each day as it comes and in a haphazard manner, over time, your life will be a mess. It’s inevitable.
This is part of your routine, and it will help you achieve your goal. Self-discipline here will mean not skipping workouts and striving to improve on your personal bests with each session.
Ultimately, your habits will either make you or break you. Self-discipline is all about breaking the bad habits and replacing them with good ones.
You should do this gradually and it’ll be easier to make progress. Trying to do too much too soon can be extremely difficult.
It goes without saying that you are what you eat. If you’re overweight or have health issues like diabetes or hypertension, it’s crucial to watch your diet and eat what’s right for you.
Self-discipline will mean staying on track and not giving in to temptations. Changing one’s diet is one of the most difficult tasks to complete, but when done, can totally transform your health and body.
As mentioned earlier, exercising is one area where self-discipline is required. While you can lose weight with a clean diet, exercise is too important and beneficial for you to neglect.
Choose an activity you enjoy doing and get as much of it as you can. Ideally, you should exercise for 30 to 45 minutes daily. Even on days when you’re not feeling like it, self-discipline will mean going through the motions.
A self-disciplined person meets their deadlines. This means not procrastinating on your work and having a schedule to follow.
So, setting yourself tighter deadlines will mean increasing your speed and focus on the job at hand. Remember not to sacrifice quality for speed. You should be fast and still do a good job.
Family commitments or commitments to other people in your life should be met too. Do not sacrifice your family time just to build a business, or by the time your business is successful, you may not have a family.
Finding balance in life is almost impossible for long periods of time, but self-discipline will ensure that you not drop the ball in any one part of your life while focusing on your goals.
The way you spend your time will define who you are. Self-discipline will ensure that you spend it wisely rather than frittering it away on trivial pursuits.
We live in an age where people spend hours on social media, sacrificing precious time that could have been spent in a much better way.
Like Charles Darwin said, “A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.”
The 7 pointers are just some of the many that you should focus on when trying to discipline yourself. If you can manage these 7 well, your life will be fantastic and rewarding.
Do start working on them today.
You’re all fired up and want to transform your life for the better. You’re willing to eat clean, exercise hard, wake up early to hustle and grind – just so you can be the winner you want to be.
The motivational video you watched the previous night made you feel like anything is possible, and you just need to make the right changes.
So, you make the changes. You eat right, exercise hard, and do whatever you have to… only to give up one week later because it’s just too hard. The juice doesn’t seem worth the squeeze.
Or are you just not aware of what it really takes to transform your life?
All too often, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. One may have the best intentions but lack the fortitude to keep going because he/she has a false perception of how tough the journey is.
Just like how the phoenix rises from the ashes, to become a ‘new you’ the old you has to die – and this is a painful process. It CANNOT be done overnight.
You’ll have to make gradual changes every day. Aiming for 1% improvement daily is more than enough to transform your life, even if it doesn’t seem like much.
When breaking the mould, it will feel like you’re fighting yourself – and you are. All change is met with resistance. If you’re broke, you’ll find that controlling your spending habits is a tough job.
If you’re overweight and trying to eat clean, you’ll have cravings for sugary foods and junk food. If you’re trying to be productive, you’ll constantly feel the urge to check your social media or binge watch Netflix shows.
Herein lies the contradiction – and it’s something you must be aware of on the journey towards becoming a more disciplined person. You’ll be battling yourself at every turn, but you will overcome the challenges and rise to greater heights.
Self-discipline is intertwined with delayed gratification. If you’re avoiding the junk food today, it’s because you’re trying to achieve a fit and healthy body tomorrow.
If you’re working on your business while sacrificing time that could be spent on entertainment, you’re hoping to build wealth and financial freedom in future.
You’ll need patience to stay the course. This is extremely hard because the process is not fun, and you need to see progress to stay motivated.
When you’re impatient, it’ll feel like what you’re doing is not working. In reality, it is working. It just needs more time.
The author, Jim Rohn, once said, “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”
This ties in closely with the previous point. Once the initial motivation to get started begins to fade, then the process will become a grind.
The key is to correct yourself after an error and to keep going. So, being aware that the process of developing self-discipline is a relatively long and rigorous one will make you understand that you’re in this for the long haul.
It’s a marathon and not a sprint.
Sometimes, you’ll need to change your environment to help stay disciplined. If you’re trying to build your business during the weekends when you’re free, you might wish to avoid hanging out with friends who like to hit the clubs and party hard.
If you’re trying to lose weight, your kitchen will need to be free of unhealthy food and snacks, so you’re not tempted to binge eat.
Making your environment more conducive to supporting your efforts will help ease the resistance you face when trying to build self-discipline.
Take note of the pointers here and remember that all the pain and effort will be worth it in the end. Self-discipline is the key ingredient to success.
As you can see, self-discipline is an important skill to master, and if you want to increase your power of self discipline then check out the featured resource below for a free detailed report; download, read it and take action 😊
If you have a great memory, you are one of the lucky few. This article probably isn’t going to add any value for you. For the rest of us, we have a difficult time remembering what we ate for breakfast this morning unless it just happened.
Keeping a journal can be a great way to improve our situations. Because we have a difficult time remembering what happened in the past, we can simply refer to our journals. These journals will contain entries that specify the events on any particular day, as well as personal notes to ourselves. These notes can be related to the events, or they can be completely unrelated. It’s up to you.
Try to avoid haphazard entries as the value of the journal will diminish. The journal is the reference book of your life. It also can serve as providing answers to problems you had in the past. The entries will contain notes about how you solved the problems.
It’s up to you whether you want to create this journal online or handwritten. There can be more of a commitment when you handwrite your journal. But, the choice is yours, as long as you keep it going and use it.
Some productivity tools can help in your efforts to journal. For instance, Evernote is a free online tool where you can create notes. You can date these notes and create a section called journal. They even have a feature where you can set up checklists or task lists. The information is saved in the cloud and is secure.
If the entire concept intimidates you, start out small. Don’t try to create volumes in your journal in the first few weeks. The journal structure that you come up with will evolve over time. You’ll keep what is working and scrap what isn’t.
A journal can help you recall information, but it also serves to help you improve your memory. As you continue to record your daily events, you are training your brain with this activity. You’ll end up relying on the journal less and less. Another great idea is to turn your journal into a book and sell it.
Using a journal is a good tool for self discipline too. Let’s look at some more ways to increase your self discipline.
We all want more self-control. Imagine how much easier life would be if eating right wasn’t such a struggle or a trip to the gym wasn’t a fight with self, regarding the desire for an extra hour of sleep.
Here’s how:
Understand What’s Particularly Tempting
We all have a weakness. Whether we can’t say no to the salty snacks or wind up staying up too late night after night, we’re looking at the same problem: A lack of self-discipline. By knowing what our triggers are, it’s a simple matter to defuse them.
Change Your Environment
Once you know what tempts you, the simple solution is to remove the trigger from your environment. Salty snacks? Stop buying them. Staying up late? Remove the lightbulb from your bedroom. Don’t be afraid to get radical and more than a little creative.
Set A Goal
Without a plan, how can you accomplish anything? Ask what you’re trying to change. What does your new future look like for you? Make an action plan to take you there.
Practice
Self-discipline doesn’t happen overnight. The only way you’re going to learn it is to practice it. Look at the plan you just created. What steps does it require? Push yourself to act on those steps, daily.
Break Things Down
Change is more natural to make when the steps are kept small and very simple. Break things down to their smallest components. What’s something small you can do today to help you build the habit of self-discipline?
Pay Attention To Your Body
Your physical health will always affect your willpower, so taking care of the basics, such as getting enough sleep and exercising regularly will help you to have better self-discipline.
Gain A New Perspective
The moment you start thinking you have no self-discipline, or that your willpower is a finite resource, you start limiting yourself. By changing your inner dialogue, you’re more likely to have success. Remind yourself often: “I’ve got this.” It truly is about mind over matter.
What’s Plan B?
When going into a difficult situation where you know self-discipline will be challenged, create a backup plan. Know before you begin just what you’re going to do if the worst happens. Implement as needed.
Use Rewards
When you succeed in your goals, don’t be afraid to allow yourself a small reward. As human beings, we’re wired to work our best when we know we’re going to get something out the experience we want.
Know How To Move On
Screwed up? Forgive yourself. Keep going. It’s normal for everyone to mess up now and again. It’s what you do next that matters.
Having strong self-discipline helps you to keep momentum going, especially when the going gets tough, but what are some other ways to help you build momentum?
You’re on the way! You have a goal in mind, you’re working hard to get there. It might be you’re after something personal. It might be you’re concentrating solely on your career right now. Whatever it is you want, you’re hungry for it. You can’t wait to see the culmination of all this hard work.
…only everything seems to be moving so slow…
So, what do you do when momentum is lagging? Easy. You find ways to build it. Try these quick tips guaranteed to make things happen:
Visualize The Future
Take some time to consider where you’ll be in six months. What about next year or the next five years? Seeing yourself in the future is a really positive way to keep your momentum going. If you can get excited about the you of tomorrow, you’ll find yourself fighting to become that person right now.
Get Up And Do Something
It’s so easy to grow stagnant. Rather than binge-watch the latest Netflix sitcom, how about getting up to create some mischief of your own? Go play a game, take a walk, spend time with friends. Do inspirational things to fill you with enthusiasm.
Learn Stuff
An active mind is a creative mind. The act of learning, even in small increments such as 10-15 minutes a day, will still improve cognitive function. In short, by keeping your mind active, you will pick up momentum.
Act When You Don’t Feel Like It
If you’re waiting for the muse to strike, stop. There will never be a perfect time to work. Momentum means keeping going, even when you don’t feel like it.
Put Your Phone Away
Giving yourself the gift of uninterrupted time does wonders for momentum. By turning off your phone for an hour, you’ll give yourself the freedom to relax, recharge, explore, and forge ahead.
Quit
When it comes to momentum, if you’ve found you’re slowing down, it might be because what you’re doing just doesn’t work. In this case, sometimes the smartest thing to do is to stop. Don’t waste time beating your head against a wall when you could be making progress elsewhere.
Do Something Scary
It’s the challenge that pushes you to new limits. When you do what’s easy, momentum lags. This is why it’s so important to challenge yourself to do the things you never thought you would.
Remember, whatever you can find to help keep the momentum going, embrace! If affirmations help, post a bunch of them everywhere. Put on music to get you moving. Create a social life around people who support you wholeheartedly. You’re the one in charge of your destiny, it’s up to you to act.
As you can see, self-discipline is an important thread throughout this article and if you want to increase your power of self discipline then check out the featured resource below for a free detailed report; download, read it and take action 😊
Every day we have choices to make. Wake up early and go to the gym, or get an extra hour of sleep? Pack a healthy lunch to take to work, or buy something when lunchtime rolls around?
Throw a little extra money in your savings account, or buy that new gadget or pair of shoes you’ve been eyeballing all month?
Deep down inside, we know which actions will yield the best results. Yet many of us struggle with making the best decisions – and fail to reach our full potential as a result. How do we overcome these challenges? Self-discipline is the answer.
If you want to be successful and reach your goals, self-discipline is the most crucial skill to master. Frequently, the best choices aren’t the fastest, easiest, or most pleasant.
Improving your ability to do what is best for you regardless of initial desire is the only way to make consistent progress in life.
As such, if self-discipline is your foundational skill, you grow more effective in everything you do.
When you develop a stronger sense of self-control, you can expect multiple improvements across many areas of your life including health, success, relationships and more, so it is a really important skill to learn how to master, don’t you think?
Here are 7 benefits of self-discipline.
First, improving your self-discipline leads to improved physical health.
Exercising control over the quality and quantity of food you consume, establishing a regular fitness routine, and drinking enough water help you maintain a healthy weight, reduce your chances of illness and disease, and increase your chances of longevity and vitality later in life.
With better health comes increased energy and a better sense of well-being which will help you to get more done and have more success which leads us nicely into point number 2.
Next, self-discipline helps you make choices that lead to higher academic and career success.
Sometimes you must choose between studying longer hours and spending time out with friends, or staying late after work to complete a project and heading home to relax.
This is especially important if you are an entrepeneur/solopeneur; you must be able to focus on the long term strategy for your business and practice delayed gratification by ploughing any profits you make in the beginning back into your business.
Third, self-discipline improves your relationships because you become a person who follows through on your commitments.
People in your life learn they can trust you to do what you say you will, and they view you more favorably.
If you keep your word, people will respond to that but if you are someone who says one thing but does another, this will make people think you unreliable or maybe even dishonest, so having the self-discipline to keep to your commitments will really help all types of relationship flourish.
Next, gaining better control over your finances is another direct benefit of self-discipline and this one cannot be underestimated!
It is linked to point 2 above where you practice delayed gratification now to have a better reward later.
That’s not to say you pinch pennies and sacrifice quality of life.
Self-discipline isn’t supposed to make you miserable. Instead, it’s about weighing the pros and cons and making decisions that bring you closer to your goals.
Examples of financial self-discipline that don’t require total restriction include regularly putting a certain percentage of each paycheck into your savings account or sticking to a budget that allocates a certain amount of money each month for discretionary spending. You still get to enjoy the present, though, not at the expense of your future.
Another benefit of growing more self-disciplined is that you’ll have fewer regrets because you make better choices in the first place.
You’ll eliminate such problems as saying the wrong thing at the wrong time because you’re disciplined enough to think before speaking.
This will also affect how you live and enjoy life. You will need to takes risks occasionally, but they should be considered risks.
You don’t want to be one of those people who ends up saying things like “If only I…” or “What if…” and has so many regrets in their life.
Use your self-discipline to make informed choices and to make great decisions to move you life in the way you want.
With an ever-growing list of things vying for our attention, it seems that time is often in short supply.
One of the best benefits of self-discipline is improved management of your time.
For example, social media can be the ultimate time-killer if you don’t exercise self-control.
While it can be useful at times, you can easily fall into the trap of mindlessly scrolling through news feeds when you could be completing other tasks.
It is a real positive feedback loop which can have a dramatic impact on the way you achieve the things you really want.
Finally, self-discipline helps you complete tasks and projects that you start, even when you lose steam or desire.
Motivation is always high at the beginning of a new goal.
Whether it’s a new diet plan, a new business idea, or even new relationships to a certain degree, when things are fresh, there is nothing but excitement and stimulation ahead.
Yet over time, motivation fades, challenges arise, reality sets in, and its tempting to go back to something more familiar or move on to the next shiny object.
Exercising self-control and choosing to finish what you start, within reason, even when you lose motivation and desire means you not only have the finished project under your belt, but you’ve learned lessons and acquired skills you wouldn’t have had you quit.
As the American writer, philosopher and artist, Elbert Hubbard once said, “Self-discipline is the ability to do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not.”
These 7 factors may seem like small things when taken individually but they stack up and if you do manage to get a hold of your self-discipline, you should see a dramatic impact on the way you live your life and what you can achieve and isn’t that worth it?
