One of the eminent qualities that can contribute to a person’s accomplishments and contentment is self-discipline. This quality brings long-term success in all aspects of life. Self discipline is the number one mannerism needed to attain goals and to lead a healthy lifestyle. Self-discipline is an invisible magic. Good habits cannot be formed without having a grip on our ability to discipline our deeds and behaviours. Discipline is that determined effort on our part that corrects, moulds and perfects the character of a person. Holy character does not come all at once, but over a lifetime.
Generally, people with high self-confidence are better off than those without. In fact, self-discipline has been a topic of discussion for thousands of years, and it has been championed by some of the world’s most successful people. The self disciplined persons do not allow their preferences to be dictated by wishes or whims. Instead, they make well-informed, sensible decisions on a daily basis without feeling overly stressed or upset. Successful people have come to realize is that discipline is the doorway to the attainment of their goals. They learned how to use discipline in their lives to achieve their imaginings. They leveraged the art of self-discipline by creating a foundational set of good habits that helped them to see things through. Theodore Roosevelt once said, “With self-discipline most anything is possible.” More recently, Jim Rohn claimed “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.” And Robert Kiyosaki asserted that “Confidence comes from discipline and training.” As Stephen R. Covey once wrote, “the undisciplined are slaves to moods, appetites and passions”.
Self-discipline is the method of building identifiable habits over time that can help us to obtain a required outcome, objective or goal. In other words, it is about taking small steady actions to form the habits that consequently help us to attain our goal. Moreover, it is all about proactively training ourselves to follow a specific set of rules and to live up to a specific set of standards that will help us to shape and align our thoughts and behaviour to the task or goal at hand. Self-discipline, like a muscle, can be developed. If we were raised in a disciplined atmosphere, we may find it easier to be self-disciplined, but we can all develop more.
Following are some of the self-discipline tips which can be utilized to build a magnetic personality:
• Make a Wholehearted Commitment
If we really want to do something, we have to commit to it 100%. It is not enough to simply write out our goals and values. If we really want to achieve our goals, then we must make the commitment to be disciplined. We must make an internal commitment to them. We have to discipline every habit we have. We should be disciplined with our physical health and nutrition, put responsibilities before leisure, manage our reactive emotions, watch what we say and keep a positive mindset. We must be fully committed to do whatever it takes to get the job done no matter what challenges we may face along the way.
• Stay focused
We have to review our goals daily and allot time to focus and visualize on what we want to achieve in the short and long term. If we get off-track, we should not beat ourselves up. Sometimes it is three steps forward and two steps back. This will help us to set the most important goals on our list.
• Be organized
An organized life is a regimented life. To be self-disciplined and achieve our goals, we need to be organized. Organization is a habit that needs to be wholly personified, not only in our professional life, but also in our personal life. This includes organizing the items in our home and office along with the items in our mind. When the physical space around us is organized, our mind becomes more lenient, stress free, and able to concentrate.
• Remove temptations and distractions
All humans are subject to temptations and distractions. Erasing all temptations and distractions from our environment is a fundamental measure when working to improve self discipline. We have to set ourselves up for success by abandoning the bad influences. Once the temptations and distractions are eradicated, we can channelize our willpower to doing great things.
• Make certain behaviours a routine
Once we decide what is important and which goals to strive for, we should set up a daily routine that will help to achieve them. We must make it part of our daily routine and part of our self-discipline building. We should get rid of some of our bad, self-defeating practices. They can put us in a gloomy frame of mind and hamper our self-discipline. A poor attitude can also be a bad habit. We should learn to say no to some of our impulses and urges. When we practice self-restraint it helps us to develop the habit of keeping other things under control.
• Set high standards
We should know what we are competent of and challenge ourselves a bit. People are happiest when they have a reasonable and rational challenge. Too much challenge is devastating, and too little challenge is under-stimulating. Knowing the sweet spot where our skills are and pushing a bit beyond helps to stay interested and results in pride of attainment.
• Be on time
If one has to be somewhere at a specific time, he/she has to be there on time. Being punctual marks a life that is organized. It reveals a person whose desires, activities, and accountabilities are under control. Being on time also acknowledges the importance of other people and the value of their time.
• Keep your word
"Undertake not what you cannot perform," a young George Washington exhorted himself, "but be careful to keep your promise." If we commit to do something, we have to do it. When we make commitments, we should see them through. That calls for the discipline to properly evaluate whether we have the time and capability to do something.
• Get inspiration from those you admire
We should locate those people to whom we salute, admire and who have achieved goals similar to our own. We should look for a role model or mentor who can give us the belief and willpower to develop self-discipline in life.
As a final point, developing self-discipline is one of the most worthwhile accomplishments. It is only through self-discipline that our dreams and goals can be attained and as such we should give as much attention to it as possible. Self-discipline is the number one trait that contributes to a person’s long-term success in all spheres of life. It is a necessary quality for any significant progress in life. Self-discipline is a resource that we can call upon and at the same time, it is also a skill that we can improve.
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