With self-discipline almost anything is possible

Theodore Roosevelt

Self-Discipline

Can you remember your parents chastising you for not cleaning your room up or not finishing your chores as you should’ve been?  Back then you probably weren’t too concerned about it and were nonchalant about it. Fast forward to today, and that type of self-discipline to keep things clean has a different meaning. Ironically it starts with the little things in building discipline that leads to the big things.

What is the significance of having self-discipline? And why is it so important?

Self-discipline is pushing or committing yourself to do routine tasks whether you feel like it or not. It is a superpower that can take you far in life if practiced and repeated daily.

In forging self-discipline, you must develop drive, intense desire, and motivation that can assist you in the pursuit of your goals. Despite that, this isn’t just about the pursuit of the goal. It’s about learning how to turn off the impulse for instant gratification and ignoring the numerous distractions. It is committing to the overall process of becoming successful and mitigating distractions along the way.

Self-discipline gives you the ability to focus on the things that truly matter. This is the superpower; self-discipline gives you this laser focus to get things done in a timely manner. This helps with developing your craft or learning how to create things.

To understand how to forge self-discipline, we must break it down to the way we form habits. Self-discipline is the act of taking small actions every day that eventually become habitual. James Clear’s perspective on self-discipline is a perfect example, he believes that the small actions you take every day are votes toward the person you want to identify as. That’s it in a nutshell, forging self-discipline is just helping you become the person you desire to be.

Just acting every day won’t be the only way to develop it. You need to put systems in place to be able to create the self-discipline you desire. For example, I write down my goals and then I add the process of how I will achieve the goal. This not only will help me achieve the goal, but I am also acknowledging the process of achieving the goal. In doing this, I will be able to obtain consistent success because the process is where you get repeated success rather than one-time success and being unable to replicate it.

Develop Your Reason Why

Your why is what keeps you motivated to achieve your goals. These are compelling reasons that keep you centered and focused. Without your why you can’t expect to have a strong desire to achieve your goals. This is like the push needed for forging self-discipline as it will keep you going even when you don’t feel like it. Your why should be so inspirational that you wake up excited every day.

Ask yourself these questions:

What do I want?

Why do I want this?

Whom do I need to become or model to achieve this?

As you use these questions to develop your compelling reasons, the easier it will become to build the self-discipline you desire to have.

Create An Attractive Environment

The environment you have curated influences the behaviors you engage in every day. If you have snacks in the front of the pantry and fruit in the back which, are you most likely to consume? More than likely, you’ll go for snacks or junk food because it’s visible. This can be changed if you become aware of it. For example, instead of having your tv remote beside your bed, place a book next to it and see how likely you are to read. To make changes in your self-discipline the environment must be curated in a way that will assist you. Start placing your running shoes near your bedroom door to make it easier to work out or put your phone in another room to increase your productivity. Whatever you desire to do to increase your self-discipline make it visible and easy to do.

Steps to forging self-discipline

Step 1: Get Clear on What You Want

To build self-discipline, you must get very clear about what you want to be disciplined in or what goal you want to achieve. If you don’t enjoy your current physique, you could say I want a better-looking body. Another one is maybe I don’t like feeling exhausted all of the time, I want to have more energy. Ask yourself some questions like:

What is something I want to change about myself?

How can I improve?

What new healthy habit do I want to start?

Step 2: Create the process to achieve the goal

When I mean create the process, I mean detail or figuring out what daily things you can do to achieve your desired goal. For example, to get a better body you could start exercising four times a week and improve your diet. You are finding out what habits and behaviors are needed to get that desired outcome. It ultimately is asking yourself who must I become to attain this goal?

Having the goal that you want and writing the process of achieving the goal will do wonders for you. As stated earlier this process of creating your goals and then adding the process will bring you sustained success. At first, it may feel weird as you have to put some mental effort into it but soon it will become like brushing your teeth.

Ask yourself:

What would type of person would I need to do to achieve this goal?

How would that person act?

As you continue to be persistent in this way, success may come sooner than you know it. The self-discipline you desired, won’t be noticeable as this is just a new way of being. Others will point this out to you, but you’ll be surprised as it wasn’t in your face. It was a gradual change that happened right up under your nose.

Step 3: Find The Appropriate Role Model(s)

This step will most certainly strengthen your self-discipline if used wisely. It must become your duty to find someone or people that are achieving the goals you want. These can be family, friends, colleagues, or even someone on the internet. Identify them and go on a search to find them. Make sure that you get clear on the type of role model you’re looking for by asking yourself:

Who is excelling in the goal that I want to achieve?

Where can I find someone who has a high level of self-discipline?

What can I learn from that person?

Step 4: Recognize The Reasons and Obstacles

It should now be obvious or rather you should have an obvious idea of what it will take to achieve your goal. The steps prior should give you clarity and now give you more certainty. The more certainty you have, the easier it should be to exercise self-discipline.

In every journey, there will be some challenges, setbacks, or obstacles to test you. To get in front of these ask yourself:

With my goals, what challenges could arise?

What things could sidetrack me in my pursuit of success?

Also, the less compelling reasons you have for yourself, the harder it will be to stay focused on your journey. Forging this self-discipline takes time and work. Basically, whatever you put in you get you to get out.

Step 5: Build Your Plan of Action

Now let’s begin to build a plan of action to achieve your goal.

For an effective plan, you should compile goals with a definite deadline for being accomplished. You can also break them down into daily goals that are manageable.

The daily goals are small tasks that eventually lead to big wins. This puts you in the driver’s seat toward success. You have a sense of control over the things that you’re working on. In doing this, it will build your confidence and lower your stress levels. Also as you keep completing these tasks, self-discipline will take over and it will become effortless. This also helps with succumbing to overwhelm. The overwhelm could lead to procrastination and the procrastination will bring about stagnation. If you are stagnant, self-discipline is not present.

It is your duty to take small steps towards your goal to maintain control and keep your sanity. Having a clear deadline also helps with disciplining yourself. It focuses your mind on completing the task on a specific date to accomplish your specific goal. Add a sense of urgency to the mix and you’ll create a recipe for success.

Step 6: Hold Yourself Accountable

This last step is the most crucial one of them all. You’re not going to be perfect, and you shouldn’t be rather you should make progress toward becoming better. Holding yourself accountable will discipline you to know where you are coming up short and make the appropriate changes. This also helps you to identify your weaknesses and possibly turn them into strengths. Make sure that you create a support team that can help you in doing this. These people can be close friends or family members that check in to see how things are progressing. Often times we can’t see our mistakes, but others can help point them out for us. Just make sure you choose the right person for you that can give you positive or constructive feedback.

Closing

Forging self-discipline takes work and is a daily commitment. At first, it may seem hard and uncomfortable but soon can become very enjoyable. It is a journey toward becoming whom you need to be for the things that you want to have. It is all up to you and what you want out of this life.