It’s 5 am. Your alarm clock howls at you, snapping you awake. And without the slightest bit of hesitation, you enthusiastically jump out of bed. You plug in your headphones, playing a motivational podcast to set the tone for your morning. A healthy breakfast, a little reading, and some gratitude journaling follow. By 6:30 am, you’re in the gym crushing a workout, and by 8 am, you’re ready for work. You feel a sense of pride in having this degree of self-control in your life.
Self-discipline begins the moment your alarm clock sounds. And what’s more, there is a continuous tug-of-war—an ongoing battle—between self-control and instant gratification. This battle is constantly waging throughout your day in everything you do; the question is, are you winning or losing?
The Benefits of Winning the Self-Discipline Battle
When you start winning this daily battle of self-discipline, life will open up to you in unexpected ways. For example, you will begin to…
- Feel more confident and self-assured of your abilities
- Attract more opportunities into your life (personally and professionally)
- Gain the admiration and respect of others due to your unwavering self-control
- Set and achieve bigger and more audacious goals
- Develop congruence between your thoughts, words, and actions
- Become a person of character and integrity
You cannot live a happy life without exercising some degree of self-discipline. The more disciplined you become, the greater quality of life you’ll experience. For example, disciplined money habits lead to wealth and prosperity; disciplined health habits lead to vigour and well-being, etc.
And this concept can be applied to any domain of life. By now, you’re probably wondering…
How Can You Start Winning the Self-Discipline Battle?
Imagine listening to your favorite song. As you listen, you hear the numerous components of the song: The base, snare, hi-hat, guitar, lyrics, and emotional delivery of the vocalist all contribute to creating a beautiful piece of music that can give you the chills.
Each element contributes to the song, working harmoniously to create the musical experience you get to enjoy—the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Similarly, each decision, habit, and action you take helps to skyrocket your self-discipline. Your discipline muscle strengthens with every good choice, every instance of delayed gratification, and every moment you practice self-control when other tempting options are available.
A Proven 3-Step System to Quickly Reinforce Self-Discipline
Discipline doesn’t have to be hard. In fact, when you have the right system in place, it can become effortless. Here is a simple 3-step system to build this essential quality:
1. Take the Smallest Action
In the beginning, take baby steps to build your self-discipline. A big mistake people make when trying to incorporate discipline into their lives is biting off more than they can chew. You must humble yourself, realizing that small improvements are the ones that matter most. Why? Because they build up and compound over time. And this process allows you to naturally adapt to the changes instead of trying to force them onto you.
And the exciting part?
Small actions (consistently taken) can lead to bigger actions and, consequently, better results much quicker than you think. So take the smallest step. Moreover, be happy, proud, and enthusiastic about it because that first action step is actually the most important one you can take!
2. Embrace Mistakes
You will make mistakes. Your old habits will creep back in occasionally; making lasting changes requires persistence. And the best way to manage these setbacks is to embrace them. See them as an inevitable part of the process. But more importantly, learn from your mistakes: Dissect what went wrong, why you reverted, and how you can rectify it.
This kind of conscious analysis will help you gain perspective.
You learn more from your failures than you do from successes, so don’t beat yourself up when you have a setback. Instead, see it for what it is: a learning experience you can use to improve.
3. Keep a “Big Picture” Perspective
Until it becomes a fixed part of your life and personality, self-discipline—like anything else—is a mindset game. And the best way to attune your mind for this journey is to keep things in the proper perspective by looking at the big picture. And what is the big picture? It’s recognizing that to skyrocket your self-discipline, you need to its process as a lifestyle and not a singular act.
When you come from the mindset that this is WHO YOU ARE instead of what you do, that’s when self-discipline is reinforced in your life.
Tony Robbins (author, speaker, and the world’s most successful life coach) says, “The strongest motivating factor in the human psyche is our need to act in alignment with who we believe ourselves to be—whether that view is accurate or not.”
So the “big picture” perspective means you see yourself as a disciplined person living a disciplined lifestyle. Here are a few simple ways to help you adopt the self-image of a disciplined person:
- Set small goals and achieve them: Wake up earlier, complete your to-do list, keep promises to yourself and others, etc. These little things (if consistently practiced) can add up, establish self-trust, and move your life in a positive direction very quickly.
- Replace vices with healthy habits: Take the stairs instead of the escalator, buy the bag of apples instead of the bag of chips, choose the gym instead of binging on Netflix, etc.
- Do something hard daily: Jump in a cold shower every day or work out first thing in the morning. Completing difficult tasks builds positive momentum in your day and helps solidify confidence; as David Goggins says, “Do something that sucks every day.”
- Surround yourself with the right people: A common troupe in the self-improvement space is, “You are the average of the top 5 people you spend the most time with.” So true. So ensure you associate with people who share similar goals and values if you want to skyrocket your self-discipline.
Next Step: Skyrocket Your Self-Discipline Today
Without self-control, you become a slave of circumstance instead of a creator of conditions. As such, it’s essential to develop this quality if you desire to guide your life to any worthwhile destination. And luckily, I’ve got you covered. Sign up for my newsletter below to receive new tips weekly on how to gain self-control, achieve your goals, and become the best version of yourself, all for free!
