Without discipline, does anything in LIFE get accomplished? For example, building a healthy relationship or marriage? Completing school or work assignments? Losing weight? Reaching personal goals? Rate yourself on a scale from 1-10, how discipline are you? Jim Rohn once said, “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments.” I’m a firm believer that our ability to display discipline in the most vulnerable moments, will determine our successes in LIFE. Anything we label as valuable, demands consistent disciplined actions toward achieving it. Success demands SACRIFICE.
Why is it so hard to be disciplined? I believe discipline is connected to our personal VALUE SYSTEM. If something is truly important to us, we will FIND the MOTIVATION to accomplish it.
According to a 2013 study by Wilhelm Hoffman, people with high self control are happier than those without. The study discovered this is true because the self disciplined subjects were more capable of dealing with goal conflicts. These people spent less time debating whether to indulge in behaviors detrimental to their health, and were able to make positive decisions more easily. The self disciplined did not allow their choices to be dictated by impulses or feelings. Instead, they made informed, rational decisions on a daily basis without feeling overly stressed or upset.
All human actions are motivated by either not wanting to feel pain or to receive pleasure. To discover our personal motivators, we have to be consciously self-aware of what’s stealing our valuable time. Ex: Social Media, Television, Friends, Family, etc. Knowing the “Why” behind what you do, helps you become more discipline to say YES or NO toward the decisions we are making. If you’re struggling with some negative habits, then it’s time to implement an action plan that will help you become more disciplined in making better decisions.
Here’s 5 ways to increase your SELF-DISCIPLINE:
- Think about your OUTCOME before you make a DECISION.
- Remove TEMPTATIONS. (cell phone, sweets, tv, video game, etc). Turn them all off and focus on productive activities.
- Track Your Progress. The self-disciplined mind also thrives when it can see the progress it is making.
- Forgive YOURSELF and move FORWARD. Life is all about enduring failure. Failure is necessary for our growth. It is unhealthy physically and mentally to dwell on the past. Learn from it and try not to make the same mistake again.
- REWARD yourself. Feed your progress with an intrinsic or extrinsic reward.
Source: Merriam-Webster Discipline Definition: Training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character.
Quote of The Day: “With self-discipline most anything is possible.” Theodore Roosevelt