Do you have issues with self-discipline? Have you lost track of your goals? Did you imagine you’d be much further along in your life by now?
If you have a problem reaching your goals, then you might need to reevaluate your routines. Life can get very busy with so many priorities and distractions. It’s easy to get off track.
If you don’t stay consistent, things can get very messy. We have to learn to make self-discipline a much bigger priority in order to stay on track with our lives. Often it’s not due to will power, but a lack of direction and goals that don’t inspire us.
To be who we want to be in this life, and achieve the things we want to achieve, we have to have discipline and passion. We need a sense of purpose and values aligned in perfect harmony to build the life of our dreams.
Let’s break down how to master self-discipline so you can achieve your goals in life.
Let’s start with the definition of a core value. Core values are derived from our belief system.
They are principles that guide all our actions and behaviors.
There are many different types of values. However, there is a smaller set of fundamental values (core values) that influence all other values.
For example, if honesty is a core value for you – then this means that you also don’t believe in lying, cheating, and being insincere.
From those traits and values was honesty at its core. So, what is self-discipline as a core value?
The self-discipline definition means making a conscious effort towards personal change in favor of long term success.
What this means is that you’re willing to put off immediate rewards to grow and discipline yourself personally, professionally, emotionally, or otherwise long-term.
The opposite of this would be indiscipline, which means lacking the will, action, or mentality to develop yourself. When we move self-discipline into a core value category we start to take other values more seriously.
As a result of self-discipline, we value fitness more. We value what we eat more. We value meditation and mindfulness more. We value taking care of our overall wellness more.
Therefore, self-discipline is the core value of all these other actions and habits.
When people think of discipline, they typically think of it as a negative concept. Discipline is typically associated with pain. Humans tend to move more towards pleasure.
This place of pleasure is also known as a “comfort zone.” It’s relaxed and allows you to be as lazy as you want without requiring anything of yourself.
However, when we start to think of the self-discipline benefits, we become clearer on our goals.
To move self-discipline into a place where we find it important, we must think of all the benefits we gain to our lives from this practice.
This includes asking yourself things such as: What will happen if I don’t complete this goal? Will I be unhappier in the long run if I don’t do this? Will I end up regretting my life? What will be the reward once I complete this goal as a result of my actions? Will you have more money, love, success? Will you be able to live a life that fills you with happiness and desire?
Start by getting clear on the negative impacts of not being disciplined, and that will motivate you to prioritize more.
So, instead of asking yourself “why is discipline important?” – think of why is my life important to me?
When we get into the habit of self-discipline, many of us try to “take on the world” without really questioning our actions or plan to get there.
We think we can just smash our way through with sheer willpower. It’s a bit like quitting smoking cold – turkey.
It’s an all or nothing mindset.
However, this could have a devastating effect on your overall goals. Do not be a perfectionist in this process.
It is the quickest way for you to completely give up. It creates a quick feeling of shame when you set unrealistic expectations for yourself.
To compound the effects of your results you want to make it realistic and somewhat enjoyable. Start small. Small results turn into big results. When you start experiencing smaller wins, it will also increase willpower.
Willpower is like a well of water from which you take from every once in a while. If you take it all at once, you’ll soon be left with nothing. It’s important to pace yourself. It’s also helpful to get others involved.
Holding yourself accountable is one thing, but having other people also hold you accountable increases the effectiveness of your goals and self-discipline.
This is because you not only let yourself down, but you let down others as well. So, talk about it with your spouse, your friends, and colleagues.
When we want to achieve anything of significance in life, it’s important to take an honest and objective look at our present situation.
Self-discipline training is about being truthful with yourself, whether good or bad. If it’s very bad, then people can tend to judge themselves too harshly and end up being their own worst enemy. They feel bad and end up quitting.
Nobody is perfect. Changes don’t happen overnight. Millions of people are most likely experiencing the same emotions and difficulties that you’re going through.
You’re not alone in this. So, learn to love your weaknesses as well as your strengths. When we learn to accept ourselves for who we are, are honest and truthful, then we can push forward more realistically and objectively.
Progress is measured accurately because you know how far you have to go and don’t get into unrealistic thinking.
How to discipline yourself is a major issue for most people. There are many different ways to build self-discipline depending on the goal.
To not get overwhelmed easily, start with smaller goals. Work on those smaller goals for a month until they develop into a ritualistic habit.
Then you can start building bigger habits and bigger goals. So, what is the meaning of self-discipline as an example?
If you want to be more disciplined with fitness, you can start by making a commitment to working out in small stages. Start by walking first, then eventually you can move to jogging.
If you want to develop the self-discipline to earn more money, then you can make a commitment to yourself to work on your side hustle business early in the morning or at night.
When you start to develop these small changes, they soon turn into big results.
Temptations are like roadside bombs on your path to a better life. Staying clear of them is vital to your success. Temptations are associated with the old you and old habits.
If you want to move into a new place in your life you must learn how to fight temptation. Temptations can be anything that moves you further away from your goals.
This could be food, debilitating habits, people, television. It could be playing too many video games, spending too much time on social media, and even waking up late.
If you want to learn how to overcome temptation, rather than making this a mental exercise, do yourself a favor and journal down all of your worst temptations.
Give them a numerical value in the order of least to worst. 1 being the worst and least being 5.
The key to setting clear life goals is having clear outcomes. This means being focused and specific. It’s not enough to say I want a better career. It’s not enough to say I want to be happier.
It’s not enough to say I want more money. When you focus on lack, you’re only going to get more of lack. It’s time to create solutions instead of focusing solely on the problems.
Good goals are specific, measurable, and time-bound. Instead of saying I want to lose weight, you say I’m going to lose 30 pounds in the next 6 months by eating a clean green diet and working out 3 days a week for 30 minutes.
You were specific and gave it an end date. Instead of saying I want to be happier, say I’m going to be happier by removing negativity from my life, meditate 5 days a week, and reconnect with old friends over the next 30 days.
It offered a solution to increase your happiness and has a timestamp. This makes it more attainable.
Creating good habits can be challenging. Nearly 50% of people give up on new habits and goals within the first week. In order to create good habits, let’s start by defining what they are so we can better understand them.
Habits are regularly repeated patterns such as thoughts, actions, and behaviors. A good habit is consistent and repetitive. Examples of good habits are things like exercising, eating healthy, and abstaining from smoking.
These habits make us live healthier and happier lives. This is why we must stop bad habits. In order to maintain these things, we have to understand our values.
If we value health, then these habits make it easier to maintain. When you don’t place a value on good habits you want to execute or have cognitive dissonance in your subconscious beliefs, they will fall away from you.
To create good habits we must believe in ourselves, truly value it, and then execute it.
Self-care is self-love. This is not selfish. If we want to set ourselves up for success then we need to focus on our overall well-being and rid ourselves of self-destruction.
Our brains take in a lot of information every day and if you keep doing things for everybody else and not yourself, you’re not going to have any brainpower left.
You need to build a self-care plan. To increase your willpower for this it is helpful to remind yourself of the importance of taking care of yourself while realizing the benefits of self-care.
When we do mental self-care, physical self-care, and social self-care, we are looking after our emotional well being. We move into a deeper state of calm and focus.
Because we feel better in ourselves, we are more prepared to take on larger tasks. Our mind is clear, our energy is abundant. We’re more vibrant and happy.
Remember to also get lots of sleep and drink plenty of water. This naturally creates those “happy feelings” and clears our body of bad toxins.
Rewarding yourself is a great way to use positive reinforcement. It's something to look forward to as you progress and continue to work toward your goals.
It takes a lot of hard work to make a continuous change. Goals can also move slowly, so instant gratification can keep you motivated. Depending on the goal will change the reward.
Below are a few ways to incentivize yourself.
You could simply take a day off. Letting yourself relax is a good way to recharge your batteries. Give yourself the gift of time.
Have a cheat day. If you’re exercising and eating right all week, reward yourself by ordering your favorite takeout meal or buying your favorite flavor of ice cream.
Buy yourself something. If you did really well during the week, reward yourself with something you can buy online. Something you could wear, read, or watch.
To master anything in life means that you execute an extraordinary understanding, action, or capability. It’s being successful in your goals, a master of your destiny.
It’s a habit of maintaining excellence at what you’re doing. To achieve great things in life, we have to get excited about our goals! You need to maintain enthusiasm and gusto.
Your passion and purpose need to align with your heart and mind so that you become unstoppable.
We are amazing beings full of power and infinite potential. Remember that you are the artist, the creator, the designer of your own universe.
You alone are responsible for the outcome of your life, so make it a great one. Life is an amazing adventure, and one of the greatest things we get to do is discover who we really are and what we’re made of. Get disciplined and achieve your goals!