Achieving goals is impossible without self-discipline. It is an essential attribute necessary for the acquisition of any personal quality, sportsmanship, virtuosity in art and business, or, as a result, outstanding work.
What is discipline? It is the ability to control your impulses, emotions, desires, and behavior. It is the ability to give up instant gratification in favor of long-term satisfaction from achieving goals.
Self-discipline is the ability to make decisions, take action, and stick to your plan regardless of obstacles, discomfort, or difficulties that may arise.
This all sounds very boring, but is it so? One thing is vital to understand: discipline does not make your life bland. In the same way, the constant satisfaction of momentary desires does not make her happy. If a person is in any way different from an animal, then it is precisely the ability to postpone pleasure to win later.
Happiness comes when a person sets incredible goals for himself and achieves them with the help of Willpower and discipline. You can't be happy by constantly playing video games, being distracted by funny videos, eating high-calorie foods, and indulging other desires.
Self-discipline is not something we are born with. Rather, it is something that develops in us over time. In fact, it looks a lot like a muscle that gets bigger when we use it frequently.
Certain factors are required to come into play. Some of them come from within, while others come from the external environment. It takes a very strong desire to start developing self-discipline. If it is not there, the chances of pumping this skill tend to zero.
Self-discipline needs fuel, which most often takes the form of motivation and inspiration. Ask yourself the following questions: What do I want? Why do I want this? What exactly will I need to go through to get this?
The more compelling reasons you can identify, the more fuel you will have for your long-term journey into a world of change.
How is a disciplined person different from an undisciplined person?
People who "didn't take a marshmallow to get two" differ in that:
- They fuel their passion.
When you do what you love, discipline comes naturally. The only time you need to be disciplined is when you don't like what you are doing. But even if you enjoy your job, it can be boring at times. That is why it is necessary to fuel a passion for what you love.
- They know how to avoid temptation.
Cakes, phones, emails, and browsers can test our will and discipline. But everything has its time.
- They know how to take a break.
They take breaks, eat healthy foods, and recuperate through exercise. Do one of these every two hours.
- At the beginning of the day, they do the most important things.
We usually put off the very tasks that will have the most significant impact on our lives. Do them first, and the rest of the day will be much more enjoyable. This is why disciplined people rarely suffer from stress - they solve difficult problems first.
- They make decisions.
Self-discipline comes down to choice. At any moment, you decide to do what you need or what you want. This happens in the morning: sleep some more and get up as soon as the alarm clock rings. Prepare a healthy and nutritious breakfast, or interrupt something quick and unhealthy. To be successful and disciplined, you need to learn to analyze the available information and then decide.
- They work within their biological clock.
Don't fight your nature. If it's easier for you to work in the morning, work in the morning. Do the things that fit your internal schedule and adjust the to-do list to match it.
How to develop self-discipline
Now that you have some clarity about what self-discipline is let's see what techniques exist for developing it.
1. Six-step process
This technique is good because it does not leave blank spots and allows you to methodically and consistently kill your lack of will.
Step one: determine what you want.
The first step in this process is to be clear about what you want to achieve. Self-discipline can only grow stronger if directed towards something specific; "Something concrete" in this case is a desirable outcome that can come in the form of a goal, habit, or change of some kind.
To be clear about what you want, ask yourself:
- What do I want to do, who to be and what to achieve?
- What new habit would you like to develop?
- What behavior would you like to change?
- What do I want to focus on at the moment?
Step two: describe what changes are required for this.
Once you are clear about what you want, it's time to describe the desired results in terms of the behavior you need to achieve them.
The solution to any task that we set for ourselves requires a specific set of behaviors/habits that need to be instilled in ourselves - only this will help achieve the goal.
Think about it and ask yourself: What behaviors and habits do I need to develop to achieve the goal? The point is that it is not enough to decide "I will stop drinking." You need to change your behavior completely. For example, now, on Friday, you need to behave differently. Or at parties. Everything will change, not just the process itself. If you cannot figure out what behavior you will need to develop, the likelihood of relapse (relapse) will be very high.
Your personalities before and after the change are different. You will become a different person (although it depends on the change's scale, of course). Ask yourself:
- What kind of person will I become when I achieve this goal?
- What qualities will I need to develop?
- How do I need to think about myself, my life, and my dreams?
The answers to these questions are essential because the development of the discipline requires a new mindset.
Step three: find role models.
Let's find some role models. These are the people who have already achieved the goal that you are only trying to achieve. Colleagues, relatives, loved ones, celebrities - anyone. Ask yourself:
- Who is doing this now?
- Who has completed this goal?
- Who is perfect in this habit?
- Who has the necessary discipline to do this?
- How and what can I learn from this person?
If you know such a person, go up and talk to him. People are usually happy to talk about their successes. Also, read books about those who have reached the heights that you dream of.
Step four: identify obstacles.
All the previous steps are relatively straightforward. It will be difficult when obstacles begin to arise. If you are wise, you will prepare for most of the challenges in advance and not act impromptu. Ask yourself what obstacles will appear as you begin to move towards your goal?
Let's go back to the first step and remember that we must decide what and why we want. If this step is skipped, then you will be easily knocked out of the saddle.
Therefore, you should once again write down why you want to achieve results. Remember that the more compelling reasons to achieve change, the more likely you will succeed.
Step five: develop an action plan.
Since you are just learning to be disciplined, the plan should not be too ambitious. At this stage, you need small wins. They provide motivation, joy, and pride in yourself.
Two principles for creating an action plan:
- You must set an exact time frame.
- You have to break down big tasks into smaller ones.
Step six: report to yourself.
Tracking progress is constructive in keeping things fresh and not making the process of change a routine. It's more comfortable for you to stay focused, see a distant goal, and motivate yourself.
2. Leo Babauta's method
A famous self-help blogger argues that if you don't instill discipline in yourself, after a while, you will have to pay off with health, finances, concentration, peace of mind, and order. This is a skill that should be tackled soon. Here are the tips that Babauta gives to those who dare.
Find motivation.
The first question is, how do you find the motivation to get started? Most of us don't want to think about developing discipline, let alone taking a bunch of things to do. The very thought of her practice is terrifying. We know this will not be very pleasant. At least at first.
Motivation can come from analyzing my life and understanding one truth: what I do does not work. Ignoring problems only makes things worse. Trying to be half disciplined doesn't help. If you have no willpower at all, it can hurt.
So the pain. Great motivator! If you live the way you lived and it hurts, then you can think: "Since I feel so bad, why not try to change yourself? It certainly won't be worse. "
Take small actions.
One of the best discipline development methods is to take small actions. Don't train on big projects; start small.
Love the discomfort.
One of the main reasons we are all so undisciplined is uncomfortable. We love familiar, familiar, comfortable things. So instead of getting to work, we play video games and watch unnecessary videos. This escape from discomfort destroys our lives.
It's time to tell myself: I stop running away from problems. You have decided to bring a little discomfort into your life; you have come to terms with it. You know that you can finally do the right thing and that it will yield excellent results in the end.
Think about how these small changes will affect your life five years from now.
Set the time.
We usually think like this, "Either I'm going to work hard for a few hours now, or I'll be resting." And even if you can work, you will be unhappy. But in most cases, choose rest.
The best way to deal with this problem is to decide that for the next 10 minutes you will do only this business. Or do nothing. This is the technique of the writer Raymond Chandler: "Write or do nothing. I find this method works well. I am either writing or sitting around. "
Why does it work? Because you gave yourself a choice. And it turns out that boredom is worse than work.
Enter interval workouts.
Interval training rules:
- Decide to develop your discipline.
- Give yourself a focus task (reading, meditation, work, drawing).
- Set a timer for 10 minutes. This is a period of time during which you need to do the right thing, albeit not very pleasant for us. Gradually bring the number of minutes to 15 and then to 20.
- Do not do anything other than this business.
- When the time is up, take a break for 5 minutes.
- Repeat the entire process.
This is a very simple yet effective technique. Thus, you can involve yourself in the work.
3. Resist the temptation
This is the only technique that needs to be mastered in order to become disciplined.
The temptation is something pleasant, attractive, something that we want here and now. It takes the form of a TV couch, a sweet bun, a wild weekend, social media posts. Long-term goals are on the other side of your life.
Temptations are just a stone's throw away. And long-term goals are so far away - they still need to be achieved. Moreover, nothing will prevent you from reaching this goal if you succumb to a little temptation.
But we all know how it works and what it leads to. This is the only enemy that needs to be defeated. Here are some tips on how to do it.
Examine your flaws.
Know yourself. This is the first place to start. A chain is as strong as its weakest link. Likewise, your determination to do what is right is likely to break down where you are most vulnerable. What are your weakest areas?
Learn to anticipate temptation.
Think about situations where you might be tempted. Rehearse mentally how you will resist if temptation appears in front of you.
Strengthen your beliefs.
Remember your principles and values about your dreams and desires. You know that if you succumb to temptation, you will fail. Is it worth it?
Find a support group.
You can avoid many temptations in life by finding friends who share your moral convictions. The one who walks next to the sage becomes wise himself.
Avoid circumstances that make it difficult to resist the temptation.
The internet is the most attractive place these days. Here you can do anything: have fun, buy, sell and get stupid. Therefore, never go online like that, but only for a specific goal that will move you forward.
Self-discipline is the ability to enjoy boring, familiar things. Anyone will rejoice like a child if every day is a new adventure if everything is not the same as yesterday. But the most generous people know how to make themselves want to do boring but right things every day.
Find new things in the ordinary and surprise yourself every day.
We wish you good luck!
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