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The thought of self-discipline can often leave a nasty taste in your mouth because it doesn’t sound like any fun. Self-discipline means having the willpower to make specific choices for yourself, usually choices that will improve your life. It includes the choice to do something as well as not to do something.
Self-discipline leads to positive results, and those positive results can change your life. When self-discipline rules over impulse urges, selfish desires, and laziness, you begin to reap the benefits in your life: meeting goals you’ve set for yourself and witnessing your self-growth. Your health, finances, relationships, and mental state begin to improve. Eventually, you begin to appreciate how much authority you have over your own life.
If you want to be able to appreciate the results of self-discipline, you first have to commit. It may not feel like it at times, but ultimately you have complete control over your choices throughout the day. Check out the tips below for some ideas on improving your self-discipline.
- Create Accountability
Accountability comes in many forms. One of those forms is money. If you want to improve as a runner, register and pay for an upcoming 5K in your area. If you want to develop your writing skills, pay for a writing class or workshop. You are much more likely to stick to a task when you have money invested and a timeline that comes with it.
Accountability also comes in relationships, human or not. A story once circulated online about a man who’d adopted a golden retriever, and that dog became the best accountability partner he could ever ask for. Each morning, no matter the weather or previous night’s events, that dog was up and ready for their morning walk, making sure his human was ready to go as well!
When choosing a human accountability partner, ask someone who relates to your goal and is willing to do the work of checking in and asking for updates. Consider their interests and even proximity. Who might find it easier to ask if you did your yoga each morning- your cubicle neighbor or your sister living across the state?
- Create Goals That Build On Each Other
Your self-discipline can easily falter when your goal feels impossible. If you want to increase your running endurance and sign up for a marathon, you’ll quickly feel hopeless. Instead, start with a couch to 5K program, THEN a 5K, THEN a 10K, THEN a half-marathon, AND THEN a full marathon. Accomplishing each small goal will feel incredible and you’ll continue to build the necessary endurance for the next step.
Remember, every small step is 100% better than no step at all. And when you stumble and don’t meet the goal you were shooting for, remember how far you’ve come, hit the reset button, and keep strengthening that self-discipline.
- Remember Why You Started
People choose to exercise self-discipline because there’s something worth being disciplined about in their lives. If you’re having a hard time not hitting the snooze button when your alarm goes off, remember the reason you chose to wake up earlier. There’s a reason we choose to create new habits, and that reason usually comes with some sort of improvement in our lives, like eating a better breakfast, having time to walk the dog, or simply avoiding the chaos that comes with most mornings. When you feel like giving up the self-discipline for your comfortable habits, think back to what motivated the change in the first place.
- Prioritize IN WRITING
The mind is a finicky thing. It does an incredible job of remembering the lyrics from the biggest summer hit the year you turned 16. It doesn’t do so well at remembering everything you need to do, especially when it’s tasked with remembering the order of importance for each task.
In order to improve your self-discipline, you need to write down everything you need to accomplish, particularly any tasks you find undesirable. Seeing the tasks in writing and knowing which ones are most important help you hold yourself accountable. It also helps to prevent you from spending five hours creating a ‘mood board’ for your new apartment when you really should be cleaning the one you’re moving out of.
- Find Role Models And Learn From Them
In whatever area you want to grow, someone has already done it. And they’re doing it better than you are right now. That gives you a few options. You can resent that person because they’re more successful than you. Or you can learn from them. If it’s someone close to you, pick their brain. Many successful people are happy to share how they’ve landed where they are. If it’s not someone you know personally, do your research, unashamed. Read their interviews and listen to their podcasts and watch their videos. Then- and you really can’t skip this part- start implementing what you learn from your role models. Strengthen your self-discipline and hold yourself accountable for taking those same steps.
- Get Uncomfortable
Growth begins at the end of your comfort zone. Almost no change can occur when you stick to what feels comfortable. You can’t learn anything new without some extra brainpower. You can’t earn more money without effort. You can’t build more muscle lifting the same tiny weights. Anything worth having is worth working for, so put in the work, no matter how challenging it may be.
- Start Early
Improving your self-discipline is about having the determination to do the things you don’t really want to do. Procrastination is the enemy of self-discipline. The longer you wait to complete a task, the less you want to do it, and the less likely you are to complete it. Train yourself to do those tasks early in the day. Try to visit the gym before work instead of after, and do your least favorite errands first, with a stop for ice cream when you’re all done. The self-discipline of good time management will spill over into all the other areas of your life.
- Set Boundaries And Limits For Yourself
There are moments that self-discipline is about not doing something you’re tempted to do. It could be spending too much money or eating something you shouldn’t. If you know there is an area where your self-discipline is weak, don’t make it harder on yourself than it needs to be.
As a teacher, I’ve often bought candy for my students. Then I’d proceed to snack on all that delicious candy sitting in front of me. I didn’t want to stop buying candy, but I did want to stop eating it, so I started buying candy that I didn’t like, but the kids still enjoyed. If you tend to overspend at Target, take a certain amount of cash and leave your credit card at home. As you learn to work through the temptation, your resolve will strengthen, and your self-discipline will grow.
Self-discipline is valuing yourself
It likely won’t be fun or easy, but having the self-discipline to follow through on commitments you make to yourself will result in changing your life. All of the good things that require self-discipline are worth having, no matter how hard it may feel. Remember your own worth and start strengthening that self-discipline! Which step will YOU take first? Let us know in the comments below!
People also ask:
Why is self-discipline so difficult?
Self-discipline is difficult because it requires us to move past what is comfortable and familiar. Creating new habits and setting new goals can feel challenging. Initially, self-discipline comes with a great deal of resistance. However, as the self-discipline improves, the resistance decreases.
