Discipline is the cornerstone of a great life. It’s the key to success and happiness in any domain or undertaking. What’s more, the benefits of self-discipline can be enjoyed by anyone who’s willing to put in the effort.
Studies have consistently shown that self-restraint eclipses talent in personal, professional, and academic achievement.
And the best part?
All of this is within your control. Self-discipline comes from you, which means you can develop this crucial characteristic. But what benefits of self-discipline will you get to experience for your efforts?
Read on to find out.
1. It Magnifies Your Self-Belief
Do you believe in yourself? Do you have faith in your capabilities to get what you want from life? These questions aren’t rhetorical either; I’m genuinely asking. And I want you to really think about this.
Because here’s the deal…
Your level of self-belief is determined by how much control you feel you have over yourself and your life. If you don’t believe in yourself, it’s because you have yet to prove your own competence. The good news is self-belief can be cultivated over time. And what’s more, it’s not as difficult as you may think.
How to Use Discipline to Develop Self-Belief
Self-belief is one of the most powerful benefits of self-discipline. Trust me: Few things can compare to the feeling of competence and confidence that comes from believing you’re capable. But you may wonder how you can use discipline to develop that belief in yourself.
Here are 3 practical suggestions to get you started:
1. Keep Your Commitments
Keep your word. Always. Regardless of how big or small the promise or commitment, if you say you’re going to do something—do it. Don’t be naive in thinking that just because something is “trivial” that it doesn’t matter. I’m telling you, everything matters. Self-belief is strengthened when you don’t neglect the little things.
You’ll falter with big commitments if you can’t discipline yourself to follow through on small ones.
2. Do Hard Tasks
This suggestion is a game-changer. When you discipline yourself to do difficult tasks, it shifts your self-perception: You feel more capable and begin seeing yourself as someone who doesn’t shy away from challenges.
To quote the great David Goggins, “Do something that sucks every day.” Try incorporating some (or all) of these habits into your daily routine:
- Cold showers
- Taking the stairs instead of elevators/escalators
- Start conversations with strangers
- Wake up early
3. Face Your Fears
Discipline yourself to face your fears. Whether it’s facing rejection, asking for a raise, giving a presentation or anything in between, step up to the plate! By doing so (repeatedly), you’ll realize that most of your fears are nothing but illusions. This process helps you gain confidence and strengthens your self-belief.
You need to take this information to heart; I’m not throwing sentences together for the sake of a word count. When you keep your word, do hard tasks, and face your fears, something interesting happens. You begin to trust yourself more.
Your self-belief grows, and you unconsciously start taking on bigger challenges and more audacious goals.
Why? Because another one of the biggest benefits of self-discipline is…
2. It Strengthens Your Self-Respect
You hear a lot about loving yourself unconditionally these days. It’s a nice idea. However, I would argue that self-love and self-respect are highly conditional. These qualities must be earned; they are the result of consistently adhering to positive habits and behaviours that — over time — build your self-respect.
Let’s face facts…
You can’t have self-respect if you never challenge yourself, don’t pursue goals that matter to you, and don’t live a healthy and productive life. Self-discipline is a prerequisite for self-respect. Have you ever met a self-respecting person with no ambition who compulsively gives into their urges and impulses?
If I were a betting man, I’d put everything on your answer being “No.”
The reason being is that self-respect comes from… well, respecting yourself. Are you respecting yourself when you overeat junk food and let yourself go? Is it self-loving to never exercise and eat healthy? Do you think it’s ennobling not to set goals that force you to grow and become better?
Self-discipline is literally self-respect in action.
These qualities are intimately linked. Inseparable. And the more you discipline yourself — in all aspects of your life — the more self-respect you’ll gain.
3. It Bolsters Your Self-Control
Every act of discipline strengthens your overall self-control.
But this isn’t just my opinion, science has proven the validity of this concept. According to the National Library of Medicine, the world’s largest medical library, practicing self-discipline strengthens your levels of restraint. The institute puts forth a self-control model that suggests you are capable of increasing your self-control.
Moreover, this model indicates an encouraging fact…
It suggests — with regular practice — you can improve self-control with small acts of discipline. By consciously managing your moods, impulses, thoughts and feelings, you can strengthen your overall willpower over time.
Now, what does this mean for you, in practical terms?
Simple: You don’t need to discipline every area of your life all at once to experience the benefits of self-discipline. In fact, that’s the perfect way to burn yourself out and never develop self-control.
A Better Way to Gain Self-Control
A better method exists: Start with one area of your life (and one habit within that area) at a time.
Most people don’t like to humble themselves in this manner. However, it’s necessary to develop (and maintain) self-control in the long run. And truthfully, it’s actually better for you because it makes things easy.
It alleviates the pressure…
In this way, you don’t have to fix every facet of your life this instant. Instead, you can start by improving what you can. And you’ll find as you make improvements to one area, that you’ll naturally begin doing the same in other areas.
But you have to build up to it.
For example, let’s say you decide to improve your health; where do you start? Well, how does an apple a day sound? Simply, but you’d be shocked at how many people scoff at this notion like this. However, big changes have humble beginnings. And the power of incremental improvements, continually made over time, should not be underestimated.
An apple a day leads to a walk around the block.
And the walk around the block turns into a run through the neighbourhood. This improvement then leads to a gym membership, and so on and so forth until you’re unrecognizable 6 months to a year from now.
And the best part? This process can be applied to any area of your life! Start small but think big.
4. It Puts You “On the Path”
This benefit is the most powerful. Self-discipline “puts you on the path.” What path, do you ask? The path of self-improvement and high-quality living. Every act of self-discipline raises your standards and therefore, nudges you toward a better future.
Every time you…
- Eat healthily
- Exercise
- Connect with quality people
- Read
- Improve your skills
- Grow your reserve of knowledge
- Save and invest your money
- Journal
- Meditate
- Set goals
- Visualize your future…
or discipline yourself in any other way, you are becoming more entrenched in your self-improvement journey. And as the old saying goes, “It does matter where you are, what matters is where you’re going.”
You’re going to end up somewhere 10 years from now. Why not make that destination one of health, happiness, and abundance? It’s possible. But you have to discipline yourself to get on the path today.
5. It Toughens You Up
Most people today are weak. The conveniences of society have softened us. So much so that many people want to eliminate competition and give participation trophies to everybody. Showing your aggressive, competitive side is now labelled as “toxic” by sensitive snowflakes who want you to be as weak as them.
One of the greatest benefits of self-discipline is it toughens you up.
As a result, you are…
- No longer bothered by petty annoyances
- More determined to reach your goals
- More decisive and resilient
- Better able to handle difficulties and setbacks
These qualities are invaluable. Why? Because if you’ve been around for any length of time, I’m sure you’ve realized: Life is hard.
And without the strength and resilience to push back when you get knocked down, you won’t make it. For this reason, you must be strong. And self-discipline is the perfect way to develop both your physical and mental strength.
Reap the Benefits of Self-Discipline Today
There is no substitute for discipline; it’s a quality that stands on its own. Therefore, you must develop it to live a great life. The most wealthy, healthy, successful, and happiest people in the world all possess self-discipline.
Don’t you deserve that same quality of life? Of course, you do. To get on the path, grab your copy of my ebook so you can experience the benefits of self-discipline today.
