Using Challenges To Develop Self-Discipline

self-discipline

Ah, the prickly subject of self-discipline! We all want more of it so we can achieve our goals and dreams but it can sometimes feel so elusive.

Well, let’s look at a couple of ways that you can use to develop more self-discipline and hopefully this will enable you to become more successful than ever. Sound good? OK, let’s get started…

One way you can develop more self-discipline is to use challenges. This makes it more like a game and less like a chore.

Also, there can be the element of competition with others and having others help hold you accountable which improves your odds of success.

Challenges are very popular and you can find them in many places. Or you can make up your own and share it with a group of people. You also can make your own challenge or use one from someone else to just challenge yourself. However, you end up doing it is up to you.

When looking to see if a challenge will be useful to you, there are some factors to look for, so you can best benefit.

Is the challenge realistic? You want to stretch yourself, but not to the point where you have no chance of success.

For example, you could challenge yourself to lose 30 pounds in 30 days, but that is not very realistic. You also want the challenge to not be too easy.

You need to see if you have the time to devote to it. Be sure to include time for learning new things.

For example if you challenge yourself to build a new blogging website in 30 days, remember that if you have never done one before, you will have to learn some things and that will be extra time above just writing the blog posts,

If the challenge is a large one over a longer period of time, are there clear-cut milestones along the way to help you have a sense of accomplishment? If your challenge, for example, is losing 60 pounds in a year, you need to set up smaller weight goals along the way so you can keep up the momentum.

Milestones also help you see if you need to tweak the challenge, either lower or higher. If you lose 10 pounds in about 2 months, you are right on schedule, If you have only lost 5 pounds in that same time period, though, you may need to lower the amount you plan on losing in a year. Now if you lose 15 pounds in 2 months, you may want to raise the amount you plan on losing in a year or cut the time down to say 10 months.

When you do a group challenge, you have some added benefits. There is a sense of camaraderie when working together on a goal that you do not get just competing with yourself.

Other people can give you ideas, too. For example if you are in a group losing weight, people can share healthy recipes and support. Just remember that the primary person you are in competition with is not the others, but yourself and you can really enjoy doing a group challenge.

As you can see, challenges are a great way to build more self-discipline and one of the reasons they work so well, especially with group challenges, is due to accountability so let’s take a look at that next.

How Accountability Can Help You With Self Discipline

self-discipline

Many people think self-discipline means doing it all on your own, but it does not mean that at all. In fact, having a coach, or a group, or an accountability partner can really help you to develop more discipline.

An example would be when someone puts off housework until they know someone is coming over, and they race around to get the house all tidy before their visitor arrives.

It is far easier to give in and be less disciplined when you just have yourself in the picture. When you have a person or people hold you accountable though, you are far more likely to make sure it happens.

An accountability partner is someone you set up a contract with to hold each other accountable for reaching goals. This is a mutual pact and is probably the easiest to set up.

The goals do not have to be the same ones, the point is to connect on a regular basis, often once a week, and share with each other how much you have accomplished.  The best way to do this is to break up the task into daily chunks and do each one each day so that you are not trying to finish up the project the night before you meet with your accountability partner.

It is often easier to schedule a meeting with one other person than a group of people.  You also usually do not have to pay for this method, and most masterminds and coaches are paid programs.

You also have more flexibility in how you meet with an accountability partner. You can just call them on the phone, or use an instant messaging program, You could meet for lunch once a week at a restaurant, or at your house.

You may prefer joining a group like a mastermind instead of just a one on one accountability partner.

The advantage to having a group is additional pressure on you not to let the whole group down, and the fact when you run across an obstacle, the group can help brainstorm ideas to help you out. Two heads may be better than one, but sometimes multiple heads are much better than just two.

You may find that you want some one on one coaching, or small group coaching instead, to keep you accountable. Maybe you are trying something new and need teaching as well as the connection.

One on one coaching tends to be the most expensive option since you are taking up a lot of the time of your coach.

Group coaching is becoming far more available because it allows the coach to help more people at the same time, plus gives the advantage of having other people that can help you out with specific issues, like a mastermind. They also usually cost a lot less than one on one coaching so may be more in your budget.

Whatever method or methods you use, remember you still have to be disciplined for them to work.

self-discipline
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