How To Achieve Self Discipline
Self-Discipline- The Root of Success
Very little of our achievements can be accomplished without self-discipline. This quality is the most important aspect of the components that go into achieving success. In all aspects of our lives this is true.
Defining self-discipline: It is the capacity to manage your own behaviors, emotions, reactions, and actions. It is the ability to deny immediate gratification to achieve the long range goal that is waiting for you and can prove to benefit you. When you have self-discipline, you can formulate your decisions, perform the actions necessary and proceed to make it happen in spite of any challenge or crisis that may fall across your path.
This does not mean you are making major limitations on your life. It also does not mean that you give up what you love to do with your time and energy. It means that you learn to pin point and focus your time and energy on accomplishing your tasks that are present until they are completed! It also means that you create a way of operating and thinking that is a direct result of your choices not your emotions which pass away, or peer pressures. This discipline allows you to succeed in a way that is understandable and operates in an orderly way.
How do you Cultivate this Discipline?
- Just like many other wonderful ideas, self-discipline can be achieved in little steps. Start small and take your time. Just as a person gets stronger as they work out in the gym, this doesn’t happen all at once. Make sure you learn what it takes to make little steps towards your goals and your success.
- What are your Motivators? What are your triggers that set you off in a negative direction?
- First, you will want to know about yourself. If you know you will be particularly weak in a certain section of your life, be kind to yourself and just don’t go there. Don’t tempt yourself. If you know that you work better by not working under pressure, make your work environment one that supports this idea rather than defeats it. Get rid of any tempting factors and replace them with encouragement and motivators that build upon that wonderful achievement you are about to obtain! If you love waterfalls, put wonderful pictures of them up around your house. What gives you added energy? Make sure you get to laugh, and listen to music that inspires you to encourage your success. Educate yourself to function under these conditions and you will succeed! This will allow greatness to come forth with ease and little effort! Once incorporated into your routine, everything will flow smoothly.
- Incorporate the good behaviors into a positive routine:
- When you have fine tuned what pleases you and you have figured out what you want to accomplish, make a schedule that will accommodate that and allow for you to accomplish your goals. Let us say that you want to be able to ride your bike 20 miles a day. Start with riding for a mile a day. Soon you will be able to add more to the mile and in no time you will be riding 20 or more miles! You can also choose to eliminate some negative lifestyle choices. A bad attitude can be habit that you may want to eradicate from your life. These will only bring you down and hinder your success.
- Say No to yourself! Some of the things you may want to do may not benefit you anymore. Encourage yourself to do what is good for you, even if you don’t want to! RESPOND don’t REACT. Think before making certain choices. Think about the outcome. Will this be a positive outcome or will I be upset with myself if I say, drink too much for example. When you are incorporating self control, things will be more manageable.
- Join a softball team! This is just an example. Sports and exercise are a great way to see the results of small goals becoming attainable. Not only are you learning to focus your energy in a positive way, but you also become healthier in the process! Not only do you push yourself to do your best, but you are implementing your discipline to achieve your goals! It works!!
- CHOOSE MUSIC..this one is my personal favorite. The repeated actions that it takes to learn a new instrument only encourages self discipline. It takes repetition to learn an instrument and this practice in itself will only aid you and help you to become a well rounded person. When you accomplish self discipline in one avenue of your life, it can often spill over to all the other areas in a positive way. This encourages you to make good choices in positive directions and will allow for you to succeed by retraining your mind to continue this in other areas.
- Who do you look up to? Find inspiration from those that you look up to. How did the people you look up to accomplish what they are successful in? Was it with dedication, focus, repetition of positive choices and actions, perseverance? I think so! So choose to implement these ideas and actions into your own life. It really is as simple as making a good choice for yourself. If you have not been doing this in your life, it will feel like pulling teeth. Do not dismay. A once unfamiliar feeling and action will become usual if you continue to do it. Do it!
- Positive Visualization works. See yourself as already have completed the goal. If it is graduating from college, envision yourself with that degree in your hand! Imagine the desired future you fantasize about! Feel what it feels like. I know this may sound silly, but even identify what smells are there and what colors. This truly works if you let it!
All this success and more awaits you. Have the courage and discipline to start small and gradually you will attain your desired goals…..Go for it….What do you have to loose?
What will you have when you implement Self Discipline?
- Self esteem, confidence and a wider smile!
- Increased productivity!
- Your patience will increase and so will your ability to deal with hurdles that may arise!
- Your health, wealth and work will only get better!
- You will become effective in achieving your goals in a more productive way!
- The more you are disciplined, they say, the easier this whole game becomes!
So dive in! What are you waiting for?
