Master Yourself: The Art of Self-Discipline
How wonderful would it be to know that you can have anything you want in life? What if I told you could? You are probably skeptical, because who wouldn’t be at first, but if there is something you really, really want in life there is absolutely nothing stopping you, except for yourself.
That might seem harsh at first, and I’m sure you could come up with a million excuses as to why you aren’t the only obstacle in your way to success, however through mastering the art of self-discipline, anything can be achieved.
What is Self-Discipline?
Self-discipline is the ability to make yourself do what you should do when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not. This requires you to understand that you are not your emotions, but rather just an observer of your emotions.
Being able to control our feelings in the moment requires intense self-awareness. Controlling your emotions and temptations in the present so that you can have something better later on takes hard work. It involves delayed gratification, which is not acting on your impulses.
This also works on the other hand. In order to be able to fully enjoy what you want, you have to do the things you don’t want to do beforehand.
There are several signs that show us we can benefit from self-discipline. These include finding yourself making excuses for not following through, not starting until you feel motivated to start, and giving in to temptations. Many of these symptoms can often leave you feeling defeated and disappointed with your efforts. Implementing self-discipline can allow you to be freed from previous internal battles and can help you truly achieve your goals.
Steps for gaining self-discipline:
Self-discipline can be mastered in the following seven steps (from self-development coach, Brian Tracy).
Decide what you want
In order to know what you need to work on, you need to know exactly what it is that you want. That means that your thoughts need to be organized and you need to decide what you want from each part of your life. This includes work, relationships, finances, physical and mental health, and more. Once you are able to have clarity in your goals, you will finally be able to take actionable steps to achieve them.
Identify and remove temptations
As Brian Tracy says, “Distractions are the enemy of accomplishment and discipline. Your ability to resist temptation will turn bad habits into good habits.” Temptations are difficult because they can be all around us. The easiest way to resist temptations is simply to remove as many as possible. This could include deleting social media apps, not buying unhealthy foods, moving locations when it’s too busy, or anything that takes your attention away from the task at hand. Once you remove temptations, your focus and discipline with surely increase.
Find an accountability partner
Sometimes, it is very difficult to remain disciplined when we only have ourselves to hold us accountable. This is why the self in self-discipline is very important; however, on your way to gaining self-discipline, an accountability partner might be necessary to take the steps toward your goals. This could look like telling someone your plans and making sure they know exactly what you are trying to achieve so if they see you falling short, you aren’t only disappointing yourself. This adds a motivating factor when gaining self-discipline.
Write your goals down
If your goals are not written down, then they are merely just ideas. In order to achieve goals they need to be specific and measurable. Writing them down makes it a lot easier to keep track of goals and make a plan for how to achieve them.
Make to-do lists
The next step to achieving your goals through gaining self-discipline is to make to-do lists. When you have a list of the most important tasks at hand, it is easier to work towards them and make sure you are staying on track.
Organize your lists into a plan
Organizing your to-do lists into a plan is another way to make sure you are staying on track with everything you need to do. If you can order your tasks in the form of least importance to most importance, it will ensure that your time is spent efficiently.
Create an action plan
Finally, creating a plan of action is essential to growing your self-discipline and taking steps toward achieving your goals. If you want to grow in life, you need to constantly move towards improvement. Whether that is making big moves or taking small steps, any form of action is essential to progress.
Benefits:
If you can improve your self-discipline, you will be put on the fast track to accomplish your goals and obstacles will be easier to overcome. This way, you are able to focus on what is most important without being constantly distracted and letting insignificant things get in the way.
Self-discipline also helps reduce stress and anxiety due to a decrease in procrastination, wasting time, and not having a plan of action.
You will also find an increase in your confidence due to your ability to accomplish what you said you would. Being able to control your emotions allows you to have control over how you react to situations and will make you aware of how to live the life that you want.
Having strong self-discipline will improve every area of your life. Although, it is important to understand that anything worthwhile will take time and effort and requires a willingness to delay gratification. If you train yourself to be able to endure temporary discomfort, you will be able to achieve perpetual benefits.
“Self-discipline begins with the mastery of your thoughts. If you don’t control what you think, you can’t control what you do. Simply, self-discipline enables you to think first and act afterward.””