Motivational Monday: How To Develop Self-Discipline in 5 Easy Steps

How To Develop Self-Discipline In 5 Easy Steps

How often do you hear people say things like, “I don’t have the willpower to do that”? Usually as they watch their friend order a salad instead of a burger and fries.

It’s almost as if they believe that some people are simply born with the superhuman trait of willpower while others were overlooked.

Tragically, that means you will have to go through your entire life without self-discipline because when that superpower was being handed out you missed your turn. Okay that reeks of sarcasm but to hold onto that belief just doesn’t help you.

So what do you think: is self-discipline is a learned skill or an innate characteristic?

Science shows it is a learned skill. But, unfortunately, it’s clear that many people don’t know how to increase their self-discipline. In the Stress in America Survey, 27% of respondents said their lack of willpower was the biggest barrier to making healthy lifestyle changes.

The only way to improve your self-discipline is through intentional and dedicated practice. As with all types of self-improvement, change is not easy and it takes time.

Here are five ways to increase your self-discipline:

Establish a Plan – No one wakes up one day suddenly blessed with self-discipline. Instead, you need a strategy. Whether you want to increase good habits – like exercising more often, or you want to eliminate bad habits – like watching too much TV (YES! Too much TV is bad), you’ll need to develop a plan to outline the action steps that will move you towards your goal.
Visualise Long-Term – You’ll be less likely to cave into temptation when you focus on the long-term gain. Giving in to today’s temptations may make you feel happy now, but long-term happiness and contentment requires you to forgo immediate gratification. Visualise yourself meeting your goals and reaping the rewards that you’ll gain by practicing self-discipline on a daily basis. 
Remove Temptation – Although we’d all like to believe we have enough willpower to resist even the most alluring enticement, it only takes one moment of weakness to convince ourselves to cave in to temptation. Making it difficult to access those temptations can be pivotal to increasing self-discipline. If your weakness is chocolate and you have the habit of foraging for food after 10pm, just don’t buy chocolate so it isn’t in the house for you to find. If you can’t resist overspending when you go to shopping, leave your credit card at home and only take a small amount of cash.
Acknowledge Weaknesses - Whether that burger and fries are the downfall to your diet, or you can’t resist checking your social media accounts every two minutes, acknowledge your pitfalls. Too often people either try to pretend their weaknesses don’t exist or they try to minimise the negative impact their bad habits have on their lives. For example, many smokers think, “I could quit if I wanted to,” because they don’t want to admit they are hooked.
Acknowledge Mistakes – Self-discipline comes easier some days than others. If you’re feeling stressed about a hectic workload you may convince yourself to skip your workout. If you are celebrating a recent business success, you may let your good habits slide for a bit. Making mistakes is part of the process of becoming better. The way you recover from those mistakes is crucial. The key is to acknowledge your mistakes and move on from them. So the next time you have greater resolve and a better plan.

It’s not surprising that those who lack self-discipline are somewhat envious of those who seem to be able to exert impressive self-control. After all, self-discipline is considered crucial to reaching goals and creating a better life. The good news is we all have the ability to be self-disciplined if we simply practice.

That is all –

David