7 Crucial Things To Look At Developing Your Self-Discipline
Building self-discipline is a process that’s never-ending. It doesn’t matter if you’re a monk who is meditating on a mountaintop or the CEO or a multinational corporation, you’ll always be encountering challenges when it comes to self-discipline.
The question you’ll need to ask yourself is – “Why am I trying to build self-discipline?”
If you want to live your best life, you have to know the end goal. Clarity will allow you to focus on what matters.
Self-discipline doesn’t exist in isolation. It has to be applied. Where you apply it will be determined by your goals.
Below, you’ll find 7 things that most people need to exercise discipline with…
1. Your Routine
Having a daily routine is a MUST. If you live each day as it comes and in a haphazard manner, over time your life will be a mess. It’s inevitable.
Once you have a plan for your life, you should have a daily routine that is conducive to your goals. For example, if you’re trying to lose weight, your day might start with a 30-minute workout session (daily).
This is part of your routine, and it will help you achieve your goal. Self-discipline here will mean not skipping workouts and striving to improve on your personal bests with each session.
2. Your Habits
Ultimately, your habits will either make you or break you. Self-discipline is all about breaking the bad habits and replacing them with good ones.
You should do this gradually and it’ll be easier to make progress. Trying to do too much too soon can be extremely difficult.
3. Your Diet
It goes without saying that you are what you eat. If you’re overweight or have health issues like diabetes or hypertension, it’s crucial to watch your diet and eat what’s right for you.
Self-discipline will mean staying on track and not giving in to temptations. Changing one’s diet is one of the most difficult tasks to complete, but when done, can totally transform your health and body.
4. Your Exercise Regimen
As mentioned earlier, exercising is one area where self-discipline is required. While you can lose weight with a clean diet, exercise is too important and beneficial for you to neglect.
Choose an activity you enjoy doing, such as running, weight training, or both and get as much of it as you can.
Ideally, you should exercise for 30 to 45 minutes daily. Even on days when you’re not feeling up to it, self-discipline will mean going through the motions and getting it done.
5. Deadlines
A self-disciplined person meets their deadlines. This means not procrastinating on your work and having a schedule to follow.
One interesting point to note is Parkinson’s Law which states that the “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”.
So, setting yourself tighter deadlines will mean increasing your speed and focus on the job at hand. Remember not to sacrifice quality for speed. You should be fast and still do a good job.
6. Commitments
Family commitments or commitments to other people in your life should be met too. Do not sacrifice your family time just to build a business, or by the time your business is successful, you may not have a family.
Self-discipline will mean giving the people in your life the attention and time they deserve, even if you feel driven to get back to work or think that your time could be put to better use.
Finding balance in life is almost impossible for long periods of time, but developing self-discipline will ensure that you do not drop the ball in any one part of your life while focusing on your goals.
7. Time Management
The way you spend your time will define who you are. Self-discipline will ensure that you spend it wisely rather than frittering it away on trivial pursuits.
We live in an age where people spend hours on social media, sacrificing precious time that could have been spent in a much better way.
Like Charles Darwin said, “A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.”
So, exercise self-discipline and manage your time judiciously. Time flies, but you’re the pilot. Make sure your destination is worth the trip.
The 7 pointers mentioned above are just some of the many that you should focus on when trying to discipline yourself. If you can manage these 7 well, your life will be fantastic and much more rewarding.
Do start working on them today!