7 Tips to Improve Your Self Discipline

Many well known and successful people have attributed their success to discipline, with stress on self discipline. All of us know that if you have to achieve success in attaining your goals, whether they are related to your career, relationships, habits or just a better way of managing your home, it is necessary to remain focused on the job at hand and not let the mind waver about. It is natural that many strong impulses might distract you and result in you losing focus, but that is where self discipline plays a major role and would be key to your continued progress. The good news is that self discipline is not something that is inherited or inborn within an individual. It can be developed at any time during a person’s lifetime and with the right habits can be even reinforced to ensure you do not lose it at any stage of life.
Let us look at the seven habits that would help you in this regard.

1. Do not lose sight of your goals and always have the big picture in mind
If you are feeling that you are short on the self discipline front, don’t lose heart and take your cue from how children automatically learn to adopt behavior that is in tune with what we keep teaching them and slowly bring about a change in themselves. This is in sharp contrast to the times when they cannot control their reactions and respond spontaneously to their wants and desires. It goes to show that self discipline can therefore be cultivated with some effort on the part of the individual.
Once they are into the groove of making the changes, they are able to make rapid progress on their own and they do not require any external motivation to continue on that path. They are driven by internal zeal and enthusiasm. The child on his or her own makes it a point to study hard and get good grades due to the tremendous satisfaction that they derive from it. Once you know the benefits that can accrue to you through self discipline, you do not mind delaying your gratification and are willing to make the required changes in your life style to achieve that.
It is therefore your consistency of action that will enable you to make the progress toward your objective and that involves sometimes making choices that do not give us any immediate happiness but are necessary for helping you achieve your objective in the long run. You therefore have the choice of making the right move in order to progress or stagnate.

2. Keep Persevering No Matter What
It is said that developing self discipline and maintaining it is similar to building muscles through strength training. When you are just starting out, the muscles are weak and you are not able to lift heavy dumb bells, but slowly over time they become stronger and you are able to see the progress you are making in lifting heavier weights. Self discipline is similar and though you may feel uncomfortable initially, you will find that as you persist in your efforts, you are able to notice the change within you. It requires perseverance and the ability to keep going without getting distracted by stronger negative impulses. The only way to stay on course is to keep reminding yourself of the big picture and what you want to ultimately achieve and that will enable you to maintain your course.
The positive aspect is that like the process of muscle building, you will find that maintaining self discipline starts becoming easier and you do not have to put in extra effort. It starts becoming second nature to you and every time you taste success, you tend to become more and more determined to achieve your goal.

3. Start off by achieving smaller successes
You can make a confidence inducing start by selecting one habit that can make a visible difference to you. For example, you can ensure that you are filing cluttered paper at your desk every day so that you can notice the efficiency in your work. By doing this task regularly for a period of say three weeks without any let up or gap, you will automatically build in the self discipline within yourself and feel happy that you have achieved something that is tangible. It is vital on your part to not surrender to any excuses and keep at the task. When you look back on what you have achieved after three weeks, you will feel more confident about remaining disciplined for stiffer tasks in future and that is good for your development.

4. Have very specific objectives in mind
Earlier having demonstrated that you can make the necessary changes in your behavior to achieve a particular task; it is now time for you to set specific goals so that you can then work towards developing the self discipline and strength of character to achieve them through focused initiatives.
You can begin by selecting an activity or domain that will benefit you tremendously such as something related to your health for instance. If you make up your mind about losing weight or developing better stamina, then you can chart out a plan wherein you would be required to exercise a lot of self discipline in avoiding certain foods. When you are able to stick to this plan and achieve success, you will know that you can indeed accomplish what you sought out to achieve and that will spur you on for greater targets to be achieved.
While you are at it, you must be cognizant of the possible pitfalls that can become stumbling blocks to your success. This should actually make you more determined in your efforts and you should not give in to any moments of weakness. For example, if you have decided to lose weight and keep away from desserts, you should not give in to the temptation of having one occasionally and feel that it will not set you back on your path. This is where self discipline is tested and if you can resist the temptation, you will know that you have managed to exercise and improve self discipline even further. This is a classic case of foregoing immediate gratification for the larger good in the future.
When setting objectives, you must remember to make them realistic and something that can be easily measured or estimated. If you have decided to lose weight, then it is better to set quantifiable and measurable targets such as losing 20 pounds within 10 weeks rather than being vague about it. When you set a measureable target, you become more focused and automatically tend to work towards it. If this is not done, you will never be able to take the initial steps as you do not know the final destination.

5. Determine the course of action
Having decided on a target, you must now put in place the actions you propose to take that will enable you to achieve that target. So, taking the example of weight loss, you could decide to totally eliminate carbonated drinks, take half an hour walks in the morning, and opt for a diet of fruits as well as vegetables.You must recognize that these are firm action plans and you do not have an option to get out of them. As you stay the course and start implementing these plans, you will get closer to your goal and in the process keep improving the self discipline. Deviating away from them can set you back from your goal and you need to always remember that you alone have the choice on hand to lead the life of your choice.

6. Keep the consequences in mind
as mentioned earlier, just as young children are not able to identify the impact that their current actions would have on their lives down the line, you too stand the danger of becoming oblivious to the repercussions of the actions you take or the weakness you exhibit at certain times. Your attempt must always be to stay focused on the bigger picture and be willing to forego instant gratification till the time you achieve what you set out to achieve. In this regard, the process of visualization can be a very useful tool to enable you overcome moments of temptation. It can help you motivate yourself and remain self disciplined. The visuals of a healthy and fit you will automatically help you shun short term pleasures of the palate and propel you towards your ultimate goal. In moments of temptation, make sure you practice visualization till the moments pass away.

7. Assess the progress you have made
It is imperative to assess the progress you have been able to make after a period of time. According to experts, it takes about three weeks to establish or put in place changes in habits and to notice the difference. When you notice positive changes that have happened over the last three weeks, you will become more confident to take on stiffer challenges. You will also be able to acknowledge the commitment shown by you and that will motivate you to take on more challenges in the future. The process will be same – you set new goals, formulate action plans to achieve them and keep to the course till you reach them.
At times, it is likely that you would experience some difficulty in sticking to your plans. Do not get discouraged and treat it as a valuable learning experience. At least you now know your strengths as well as weaknesses. It will help you identify the parts you did well and where you need to put in extra efforts to overcome negative impulses. It would also be worthwhile to closely look at the circumstances that led to the weakening of your will power as that will help you guard against them by taking necessary steps.
Ensure that you celebrate your successful moments. That will help you realize that you do have it in you to remain focused and disciplined which will lead to you being able to exercise self discipline with better consistency going forward. If you keep at this and stay the course, you will definitely achieve the objectives you had set out for yourself.

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