The scenario is common: It’s 4:30 in the morning; your alarm clock startles you awake. You stumble out of your slumber and glance at the running shoes you placed by your bedside the night before. This practice is how you vowed to strengthen your self-discipline.
Normally, you would contemplate whether you should go for that run or not.
Your bed is comfortable, your room is warm, and your mind is rationalizing giving in to weakness—the temptation is strong. But you made a commitment. So you get dressed, put your shoes on, and you’re out the door.
This scenario is familiar to most of us.
But yet, most people fail to do the right thing. So the question becomes: How can you keep your commitments, strengthen your self-discipline, and freeze out weakness? Keep reading to find out.
1. Write it Down
Yes, this tip is cliche. But for good reason: It works. Whether in a journal, on a to-do list, or in the Notes App on your smartphone, writing down your aims can be powerful. This process can have a commanding psychological effect on your conscience.
Moreover, science has proven the validity of my claim.
A study conducted at the University of California explored the effectiveness of writing your goals down. 267 participants partook in the goal-setting experiment. Upon completion, the study concluded that people are 42% more likely to accomplish their goals when they write them down.
2. Be Intentional
Discipline is all about intentionality. Instead of letting circumstances happen to you, you make the circumstances you want. You force life to pay the price you want in the form of your goals.
But this can only happen when you’re deliberate.
You can’t take a passive approach and expect to stay on track with your disciplines. So to strengthen your self-discipline, practice intentionality. The best method for doing this is through review. Deliberately (and consistently) review your itemized goals or habits you’re attempting to adopt.
It’s not a sexy process, but it’s invaluable for getting you to take action.
The human mind works in strange ways: More often than not, it’s only once something has been repeatedly suggested to you that it actually sinks into your consciousness. Rare is it that you’ll internalize something the first time you learn it.
For this reason, a repeated review is essential. And that’s why you must be intentional.
3. Humble Yourself
I’ve mentioned this repeatedly in previous posts. And for good reason: It’s one of the foundational aspects to strengthen your self-discipline. You must have some humility and realize you can’t do anything too far outside your current behavioural patterns.
At least not at the beginning.
This is one of the major reasons people not only fail to build discipline but achieve anything noteworthy. They don’t humble themselves enough to start small and slowly build up the discipline required for life change. And instead, they’re humbled by their failure.
There’s a better way…
Start with the littlest of disciplines, the smallest of actions. Most people see these actions as trivial or inconsequential, but the opposite is true. The small steps you take—day in and day out—are the building blocks for developing true grit and self-discipline.
For this reason, these little actions toward improvement deserve your utmost respect.
And the best way to dive into this process? Humble yourself by realizing you are not above these little tasks. A healthy body begins with an apple a day. Building a fortune starts with putting a little aside each paycheck. And strengthening your self-discipline has its beginnings in the smallest of habit improvements.
Are You Ready to Strengthen Your Self-Discipline?
Becoming more disciplined is a matter of effort, patience, and persistence. If you can hold the line and remain steadfast toward the proper actions, you will strengthen your self-discipline. But if you need some assistance, I can help. Be sure to grab a copy of my ebook to start sculpting your discipline muscle today.
