While many factors will contribute to the happiness and success that you see in your life, one of them seems to be more important than the rest: self-discipline. Without it, you cannot succeed, and with it, you cannot fail. Whether you are trying to lose weight, become more physically fit, get a promotion, go to school, improve your relationship, or be more productive, self-discipline is the key to seeing success.
People spend their lives trying to figure out how they can be successful, have the perfect body, and find happiness, but the truth is to have all of this; you only need self-discipline. When a person is self-disciplined, they do not allow their impulses or their feelings to dictate their choices. They make informed decisions based on what they need to do each day to reach their goals.
You see, they don’t give up just because they don’t feel like continuing. They are disciplined enough to know how important persistence is. They keep going even when it would be easier to stop. A self-disciplined person is also not guided by their emotions. They understand that feelings come and go, but their goals will remain the same.
There are many ways for you to improve your self-discipline. The following techniques are the most effective that I have been able to find. By using these methods, you are going to be able to break your bad habits while replacing them with good ones, gain control of your life, and finally reach your goals. Self-discipline will help you have the life you have always wanted if you are willing to put in the work.
It’s not willpower.
Willpower is what will get you started when you want to reach a goal, but it is not going to get you the entire way. Willpower burns out fast, and that is when you need to rely on self-discipline. However, you don’t have to make things hard on yourself. By removing the temptations, you are ensuring that you are not relying on willpower, but instead, you are using self-discipline.
For example, if you struggle with staying off social media while you are at work, download a program that will completely block social media during your work hours. The temptation is gone. Then when you have put in a full day of work, you can scroll all you want. If junk food is your temptation, get it out of the house. Practicing self-discipline by not buying junk food will ensure that you do not overindulge. Save the junk for an occasional treat.
Diet Matters
We often forget what an important role our diet plays in our lives. However, studies have shown that a person’s diet can affect their self-discipline. You see, if your blood sugar is low, it will weaken your resolve. A person can’t focus on what they are doing or practice self-discipline when they are hungry all the time. So, make sure that you are eating three meals per day as well as two snacks. It is also essential to make sure that you are drinking plenty of water. You don’t want to find yourself turning to the vending machine too often because those types of foods do not support self-discipline.
Feelings Don’t Matter
I don’t feel like doing it today. Maybe I will feel like starting tomorrow. Don’t wait to do something until you feel like it. Self-discipline means that you do what needs to be done, whether you feel like it or not. Human’s fight against change. It doesn’t matter what the change is or even if it is good for us. It is in our nature to fight against it. Because of this nature to fight against change, you are never going to feel like making any changes, instead of deciding to wait until you feel like it, resolve to get it done now.
Give yourself rewards. Have fun.
Just because you practice self-discipline, it does not mean that you cannot have fun, or you have to become a drill sergeant. If you give yourself no time for fun and no rewards for all the things you are accomplishing, you are only going to set yourself up for failure. Instead, choose times or days when you will have fun and let your hair down.
Of course, this does not mean that you go completely crazy. For example, if you are trying to lose weight and you have lost 10 pounds in the past month, you can reward yourself by going out to dinner with your friends. You cannot reward yourself by eating an entire cake and a box of ice cream. Letting your hair down is one thing, but throwing self-discipline out the window is something else.
It Happens
Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone fails at some point or another. However, when a person is practicing self-discipline, they are going to acknowledge that they failed. Then they will determine if there is a lesson to be learned from it. Once the lesson is learned, they are going to forgive themselves and move on with their lives.
They are not going to get hung up on feeling frustrated or letting their emotions take control of them. They will use the experience to improve their self-discipline and get right back to work.
Be willing to put in the work.
You can have all the self-discipline in the world, but if you are not willing to put in the work, nothing is going to work out for you. Nothing in life that is worth having is going to come easily. The fact is that if what we wanted came to us easily, we wouldn’t want it. It’s just how we are wired. Instead, we must put in the work, make the right decisions, and not allow anything to stop us. Self-discipline makes that easier. You can prepare yourself for the work that you are going to need to do by planning. This will help you to stay focused, finish your tasks, and improve your self-discipline.
Work a little bit every day on your self-discipline, and before you know it, you will be a master. Aristotle said that freedom comes through discipline. Are you ready to experience freedom?
