Many people assume that other people’s successes can be attributed to luck or extraordinary skills, but most times that isn’t the case.
Discipline is one of the most important aspects of living the life you want. If you have enough discipline to keep moving, keep fighting, and remain patient, you can achieve anything you want in life.
You can become whatever you want to be. It’s as simple as that.
There is no magic formula to success, just discipline.
Self-Control Can Change Everything
Self-control gives you the strength to stand with the decisions you make about your goals. It reminds you of how capable you are to fight for what you want and never change your mind about the good things you want to accomplish.
It is the inner power that gets you up and moving when you don’t feel like it.
Self-discipline is the very thing that causes you to choose to do what has to be done instead of choosing to do what you want to do.
Behavior management and control is the main reason top athletes reach their goals and remain on top. Michael Phelps is considered the most successful and greatest Olympian of all time because he practiced self-discipline.
He holds the most Olympic Swimming gold medals.
It is impossible to imagine what he would have achieved (or in this case, failed to achieve) if he lacked the kind of self-control that is needed for one to succeed. If he never practiced good habits such as eating right or refusing to be distracted from practicing, maybe he would have never made it.
Without self-control and discipline, we wouldn’t be talking about him right now.
You need to adopt such determination if you want to reach greater heights in your professional life, academic life, personal life, or wherever else you want to improve. You need to realize that nothing great can be accomplished if you do not have control over your mind and the resulting actions.
Getting Back on the Wagon as Much as Possible
We all sometimes fail to meet our own expectations. We all fall of the wagon sometimes.
What’s most important is that we get back on with things as soon as possible. Feeding into bad habits and constant concessions to our discipline can derail us from the path to success. It starts as something that is minor, but before you know it, it turns into a bad habit that is hard to break.
For instance, let’s say losing weight is your goal but you make a compromise to eat lavishly just for today. This is bound to happen, and sometimes we deserve to have a day off. Beating up on yourself for this isn’t helpful. Lean into this and enjoy it for what it is.
But does it stop there? What’s the most natural thing that can happen the following day?
Many of us continue with the unhealthy diet again. It’s easier to make the same compromise the next day and the day after next and so on. Before long, we end up making the “small” compromise throughout the week, and eventually once a day.
In the process, you we fail to notice we’re gaining more weight than we wanted to shed off initially.
So what’s the solution here?
The solution is balance, but more than that, the solution is to get back on with things. If you make returning to the new habit you’re trying to develop into a habit of its own, you will find less stress for when you fall short of your goal.
Find a good balance between your own personal life and wants, and your goals. Discipline is key here. At first it might be easier to go cold turkey on some of the habits you’re trying to change, but eventually you’re going to want to find a healthy balance.
Most people want to have a bit of cake every now and then without it derailing their goals, after all. The prospect of never getting to make a mistake or deviate from your discipline can often push us not to try at all.
7 Ways to Master Self Discipline
- Have a clear understanding of your goal and what you will benefit from it.
- Take the time to learn your weaknesses and strengths, and live your life with these in mind.
- Stay healthy. A healthy body and mind will give you far more energy and endurance towards your goals.
- Do not allow people, places, or things to determine whether or not you will keep going.
- Understand the power of self-discipline. This is what will keep you productive and working consistently towards your goals. Without it, you’ll only meander on a path that doesn’t lead anywhere.
- Understand what you can achieve by controlling your behavior. Be sure not to be too hard on yourself when you fall short, but by controlling yourself, you can achieve much more than ever.
- Research real-life stories of people who have achieved greatness by mastering self-control. There are so many inspirational stories out there. It’s time to use them to realise this is possible for you too.
