Nowadays, mastering the art of self-discipline is presented as an outdated strategy. In other words, a lot of new information insists that self-discipline is overrated and no longer relevant. While some of these arguments make a lot of sense, the people writing the books and researching the data are self-disciplined. Ironically, it takes a bit of self-discipline to accomplish almost anything, especially writing books about it.
I digress.
But you see my point. The truth is old-fashioned self-discipline, which is still an excellent idea to incorporate into your award-winning life.
In this article, you’ll learn how to get off the soul-sucking rollercoaster of ups and downs and finally plant your feet on the solid ground of steady progress (even if it’s slow, it’ll progress).
These seven strategies will help you develop the self-discipline muscle that you long for.
7 Ways To Master Self-Discipline
1- Start With Why
You may think self-discipline starts with to-do lists, apps, calendars, and planners. These tools will boost your productivity, but you need more. The first thing you need to master self-discipline is to know why you’ve chosen your particular goals—superficial reasons are often not strong enough to inspire you to stick with the project. You need to identify the deep, emotional causes that resonate with you meaningfully.
For example, losing weight to look slimmer might not be a strong enough reason to keep you on your healthy eating plan and in the gym daily. However, when you think about the more significant benefits of losing weight, the purpose suddenly becomes more muscular. Is the goal of weight loss to have more self-confidence? To have more energy to spend with your children? Do you want to live healthy longer and eliminate or avoid chronic illness? All of these more substantial reasons why can keep you on track and help you build the self-discipline that is required to meet your goal.
2- Delay Gratification
Second, one of the more significant concepts behind self-discipline is that it increases one’s ability to delay gratification. When weighing opposing options, one sacrifices short-term benefits for long-term gains.
One of the best ways to build self-discipline is to delay gratification, but make sure you plan something enjoyable in the short term, too.
Let’s use the same example to show you’re trying to get healthier and lose weight. You may eat healthy most days, but allow yourself a break on the weekend. You might also allow yourself some of the foods you enjoy but prepare at home with more nutritious ingredients. If you eat healthy 80 to 90 percent of the time, you will begin to build a self-discipline muscle in this area, and before you know it, you will look and feel much better.
The key is to make choices that lead to long-term benefits without completely sacrificing your quality of life in the short term. That way, you make sustainable changes that you can stick to. All of a sudden, you will begin to see your life improve.
3- Reduce Your Options
The third method of mastering self-discipline is simplifying your life by reducing your options. By reducing decision fatigue, you will find more energy to put toward achieving your goals. Many successful people in the media are known for limiting their wardrobes – they wear the same types of clothing daily, eliminating confusion about what to wear.
You can do the same with your diet by stocking your fridge and cabinets with only healthy foods. This will remove the temptation to go off plan.
Likewise, you can simplify your exercise routine by keeping a schedule whereby you exercise around the same time daily. That way, you never have to decide if you are going for a walk, run, or gym. You do it because that’s what you do. Before that, I will have mastered the discipline that exercise and healthy eating require.
4- Visualize The Process
Another method for building self-discipline is visualizing the steps you’ll take to achieve your goals.
If you struggle to wake up early to go to the gym, for example, before you fall asleep at night, envision how you’ll approach the morning.
When your alarm goes off, wake up, get dressed, and head straight to the gym. Imagine the exact workout you’ll do from start to finish. You’ll visualize yourself feeling accomplished, knowing you’ve made the best decision. You’ve got a great start to your day. I know this may sound cheesy, but it works. Before walking 4 to 5 miles daily, I visualized getting out of bed early and walking down the street.
5- Make Sure Your Baseline Needs are Covered
Building new habits and exerting self-control is much easier when you are well-fed, well-rested, hydrated, relaxed, and comfortable in your physical surroundings. Therefore, ensure you meet your basic needs of healthy food, shelter, clean water, and enough rest before tackling big goals. It’s rare for a person to kill it and crush it when their house is in foreclosure and their marriage is on the rocks. It can be done, but the one who does it is more of an exception than the rule. The media paints these people as heroes, and they are. But remember, most of us need food, clothing, and shelter before we kill it and crush it, and that is completely fine.
6- Change Your Language
Oh wow, this is a big one. How you speak about your goals and priorities can make a huge difference in your approach.
For example, not every aspect will be exciting and motivating if you’re starting a new business. Some tasks will feel tedious, dull, and even downright frustrating. Exercising self-discipline and self-control means pushing through the unpleasant parts to reach your goal. A trick you can use here is to change how you discuss these aspects, even with yourself.
For example, if you dread a presentation or project at work or school, you have two choices. You can complain about how awful the job is and procrastinate, or you can describe how lucky you are to be in your position. Hey, I’m taking my advice here. I’ve had to practice this time and time again. Not every aspect of life and work is rainbows and unicorns (although I wish it were so).
If it’s school, you can think about it. How fortunate you are to have the opportunity to advance your education. If it’s work, you can think of it as a way to showcase your knowledge or skills and how great it is that you have a steady paycheck that allows you to pay your bills and enjoy financial security. Again, this takes self-discipline, and as you practice, you become more disciplined. It’s a win-win situation if you don’t see it as such.
7- Shift Your Identity
Your self-discipline will dramatically improve if you think of the end goal and align your identity with the person who has achieved that goal.
For example, if you want to improve your physical fitness, consider the actions of the physically fit. Reframe your identity and describe yourself as a person who cooks healthy food and enjoys physical activity.
If you want to have a successful business, examine the traits of successful businesspeople. Adopt some of those traits as you describe your identity. Perhaps you’ve read that the most successful people are early risers. You, too, can shift your self-perception by becoming an early riser. Identify as the type of person who wakes early to work on their business every day.
Final Thoughts
Self-discipline is combining your goals and shifting your mindset to prioritize the choices that advance you toward attaining them despite your feelings. However, self-control isn’t something you can master every night. Just like any muscle in your body, self-discipline takes time to build. You can improve, grow, and become the best version of yourself with practice and effort. Most of all, realize that the journey can be pretty fun!
Be well + prosper,
Elaine xx