The single most important attribute to becoming successful is self-discipline. It helps you stay focused on reaching your goals, gives you the gumption to stick with difficult tasks, and allows you to overcome obstacles and discomfort as you push yourself to new heights.
What exactly is self-discipline? It’s the ability to control your impulses, emotions, reactions and behaviors; it allows you to forego short-term gratification in favor of long-term satisfaction and gain. It’s saying “no” when you really want to say “yes.” It isn’t about leading a restrictive and boring life void of enjoyment. In fact, it’s next to impossible to be self-disciplined in all areas of your life. Rather than attempting to be disciplined in all you do, use it to focus on what’s most important.
Some of these tips:
1. You can’t achieve your goals without discipline, so supplement your goal list with a self-discipline list; it will keep you focused on the behaviors and tasks needed to achieve what you want. For example, one of my goals is to be more visible to our customers. My discipline list includes things like “call three customers per week” and “send five thank you cards per month.” Do the things on this list without fail.
2. Use a daily “to do” list to keep track of what you need to get done to achieve your goals. Try using online tools to make daily checklists to organize and prioritize. It feels good to check the little boxes when you’ve completed a task; it may even motivate you to finish one more thing on your list at the end of the day just to feel the satisfaction of checking another box. Make sure your “to do” list coincides with your discipline list so you stay on track.
3. Figure out what your barriers to success are. For example, I’m easily distracted by emails, meetings and people walking into my office; to reach my goal of more customer contact, I close my office door as soon as I get to work and make calls, send thank you notes and answer emails sent from customers. I then check it off my “to do” list and move on with my day. Trying to lose weight? Get the junk food out of your house. Want to be more productive at work? Close your email application and only check your emails twice per day. Want to get in shape? Get up early and work out so you don’t lose motivation when you are tired at the end of the day. Minimize or remove all temptations and distractions to reach your most important goals.
4. Share your goals with others. It’s easier to stick with something when you’ve made a public commitment; the thought of failing in front of others can be motivation to stick with it. These people can help hold you accountable, too.
5. I know the saying goes, “Don’t do it for others; do it for yourself,” but I have found I am much more disciplined when I consider how my actions, behaviors, emotions and impulses affect others. Contrary to popular belief, it’s OK to use external sources to drive motivation. In fact, sometimes external motivators are more powerful than internal ones. Find purpose beyond yourself to create a higher chance of success.
6. You create discipline by creating habits. Once something becomes a habit, you no longer need willpower to force yourself to do it. For example, one of my goals was to do more yoga. I made a commitment to do it 30 minutes a day for 30 days. I saw such benefits that I stuck with it. Now I get up an hour earlier in the morning to start my day off with an hour of yoga … without having to set an alarm
7. Stop making excuses. Don’t wait for tomorrow; do it now. Fall off the wagon? Start over immediately. Quit telling yourself something is too hard or that you can’t change. Don’t blame other people for your circumstances. Excuse-making is the killer of self-discipline. Achieve more by adopting an “I can do this” mindset.
With Self-Discipline, Almost Anything is Possible
“With self-discipline, almost anything is possible.” Self-discipline is, indeed, regarded as one of the keys to success. Many people attribute self-discipline as having determination and fortitude. That means having the strength and will to continue carrying out what one wants to achieve despite setbacks and hardships. But in actual fact, self-discipline is more about having self-control or the ability to control your desires and not falling prey to bad habits, such as laziness, procrastination and irresponsibility. In other words, self-discipline is having the willpower to fight your wilful desires.
When a teenager gets up early and prepares him/herself for online classes, that is self-discipline, as they resist the desire to sleep longer. If a student turns off his/her mobile phone to study peacefully without any distraction, that is self-discipline. Making great efforts to abstain from bad habits, such as smoking or too much gaming, is also self-discipline. So, basically, self-discipline is regulating yourself for the sake of improvement or betterment of your situation.
Self-discipline delays short-term gratification for long-term reward
Having self-discipline helps us to overcome laziness and procrastination and prevents us from taking things for granted. It directs us to choose what we want now and what we want for the future. Maxwell Maltz, author of a self-help book called "Psycho-Cybernetics: A New Way to Get More Living out of Life", said, “The ability to discipline yourself to delay gratification in the short term in order to enjoy greater rewards in the long term is the indispensable prerequisite for success”. Self-discipline makes you re-evaluate what you need to do now in order to achieve success in the future. As the saying goes, what you sow now is what you will reap in the future.
The self-disciplined person takes control of his own life
Having self-discipline helps us to overcome laziness and procrastination and prevents us from taking things for granted. It directs us to choose what we want now and what we want for the future. Maxwell Maltz, author of a self-help book called "Psycho-Cybernetics: A New Way to Get More Living out of Life", said, “The ability to discipline yourself to delay gratification in the short term in order to enjoy greater rewards in the long term is the indispensable prerequisite for success”. Self-discipline makes you re-evaluate what you need to do now in order to achieve success in the future. As the saying goes, what you sow now is what you will reap in the future.
You alone are responsible for your quality of life
One thing about self-discipline is that it is a learned skill, not something innate. Some people are taught self-discipline when they are young, like making their own beds, having salad at every meal or having a specific time for study and play, while others do not. But, however you were brought up, it is never too late to learn self-discipline. All you need is a strategy and a little practice. Some strategies that you can employ to increase your self-discipline are, for example, establishing a daily routine, like sleeping and getting up at the same time every day, having a specific timetable for your daily activities and removing distractions and temptations slowly but consistently. Another good strategy is reminding yourself of the benefits of what you need to do compared to what you want to do.
Instilling self-discipline in yourself is not a walk in the park. It is challenging and many people fail. But this is where your determination and fortitude come in. Suffer the pain of self-discipline or you will suffer the pain of regret. Persevere and continue practicing self-discipline every day, and one day you will reap the fruits of your success.
“The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own. No apologies or excuses. No one to lean on, rely on, or blame. You alone are responsible for the quality of it.”
