Self-discipline is an essential skill to develop for achieving your goals and creating the kind of life you want. However, for most people, self-discipline is a skill that could use some improvement. The good news is that, like any other skill, it can be trained. Taking full control of your life and becoming disciplined is achievable and is totally up to you.
In today’s article, we will focus on discovering what self-discipline is, why it is so important, and how it can be improved.
What is Self-Discipline?
Self-discipline is the ability to continue working for your goals and to stay motivated regardless of how you feel. It means intentionally pursuing your dreams, even if you are not always in the mood for it. It requires you to do what you should be doing for the long-term benefits instead of focusing on your present comfort.
For example, let’s assume your goal is to get in shape, so you decide to go to the gym every morning before work. Self-discipline means sticking to this schedule, even if you’d rather stay home when your alarm starts ringing.
Self-discipline is not the same as motivation or ambition. While you need strong motivation to continue pursuing your goals, self-discipline is a commitment you make to yourself.
Now that we’ve established what self-discipline is, let’s take a look at some of the benefits of mastering this skill:
- The ability to achieve your goals: The most obvious benefit of self-discipline is that it helps you achieve your goals. Especially if we are talking about long-term goals, discipline and consistency are essential for success.
- Increased resilience: Once you build self-discipline, it becomes much easier to resist temptations.
- Better life choices: With self-discipline, you will make much wiser choices about all areas of your life because your judgment will no longer be clouded by short-term desires.
While it’s not easy to master this skill, it can make a huge impact on your life.
How Can You Improve Self-Discipline?
When you are building self-discipline, you are investing in your well-being. In fact, it is scientifically proven that people with self-discipline are happier.
So, let’s take a look at some useful tips on how to improve this skill:
Start Small
Self-discipline is not built overnight. It is a skill that you can develop gradually, so start small. Trying to get rid of all your bad habits immediately and becoming extremely disciplined will make you feel overwhelmed, and your chances of succeeding will be very low. In fact, trying to do too much at once might even lead to burnout.
Therefore, start by making small changes. For example, you might want to be more productive in the morning. Instead of creating a very complicated routine, start by waking up a bit earlier. Stop snoozing your alarm and wake up and wake up on time. Once you get used to it, add another productive habit to your morning routine.
Set Clear Goals
What do you hope to achieve? What would make your life better?
Setting clear and realistic goals is an important step toward improving self-discipline. Once you know what you are working for, you will find the motivation to become more disciplined. To make the process even easier, find a way to remind yourself about your goals every day. For example, you can try to write them down and put them on a desk where you can see them daily.
Remove Temptations
Temptation is the enemy of self-discipline. If you are surrounded by things that distract you or encourage you to make unhealthy choices, you will eventually fall into the trap of doing so. Therefore, it’s important to identify your weaknesses and eliminate any temptations.
For example, if your goal is to lose weight, stop buying sweets. If you want to be more productive at work, turn off your notifications.
Develop Good Habits & Eliminate Toxic Ones
Self-discipline means creating a healthy routine. For that, you need to eliminate toxic habits and, ideally, replace them with good ones.
As previously mentioned, you can’t do everything at once. Therefore, the best strategy would be to eliminate one bad habit at a time, adding a good habit to your routine instead.
For example, you might want to eat healthier and also save money. To do that, let’s assume you decide to stop ordering food and start cooking at home instead. This will not only help you save money, but it will also eliminate the temptation to order junk food. However, cooking your meals daily is not easy if you are used to ordering food, so start by doing this only two or three days a week before attempting to do this every day.
Measure Your Progress
Track your progress to see how far you’ve come. This will help you stay motivated and also show you if you are going in the right direction. Plus, it will also show you in which areas you are struggling and what you can further improve.
For tracking your progress, I recommend using a journal.
Final Thoughts
It is possible to improve your self-discipline, and I encourage you to start today. It will be a game-changer, and you will be amazed at all the progress you will be making once you start taking control of your life.
Do you have any other tips for improving self-discipline? Let me know in the comments below.
