No human attribute can help you work towards attaining your goals faster than self-discipline. Self-discipline encompasses all other virtues – when you are in control of yourself, your thoughts and emotions, you’ll most likely be endowed with all other desirable virtues such as honesty, respect, diligence, integrity, and competence.
Mastering the art of self-discipline is one of the best gifts you can give to yourself. It may not be a walk on the clouds, so knowing that you’re working your way to becoming a stronger and wiser person will get you motivated.
Self discipline WILL assist you in achieving your goals and dreams but it will require you to invest much of yourself – your time, money and energy which you’d otherwise put into other less productive things. You may not like the discomfort that may go along with this journey, but stick with it. This new journey you are about to embark upon will not always be easy, a self-disciplined person knows that. True focus and control of your own feelings and emotions are two things a disciplined individual faces with eager anticipation, because he knows the rewards are more pleasing in the end.
Get motivated – self-discipline will help you accomplish more things. Identify your “soft-addictions” and isolate them from the more productive actions. Here is a good book to help you recognize those time wasters.
There Must Be More Than This by Judith Wright
By taking the time to identify your “soft-addictions”, you are constantly aware of what distracts you or blocks your way to getting things done quickly and efficiently. Determine your work style; focus on your strengths and accommodate your weaknesses. A lot of people are not aware that little distractions will eventually cost them a lot of wasted time and effort when bundled altogether. Surely, everyone enjoys a little rest and relaxation, just be sure to recognize when your rest and relaxation time starts to get in the way of you moving forward.
Self-discipline will also require you to determine what is most important on the road to your destination. There will be times when you will have to say NO to a particular request, event or person in order to stay true to your journey. Successful people do not say yes to everything. In fact, they say no to a lot more than you think. They do this to have their efforts focused on a few, but essentially productive, actions. I haven’t met a happy or successful individual who claims he or she is a jack-of-all-trades. I am currently in “jack-of-all-trades rehab.” While I can do a bunch of things very well...I am focusing my efforts on those things that I intend to become a MASTER in; dropping the others along the way.
Stay focused and you will become a master of self-discipline in no time. When you shut out the non-essentials, you tend to stay on track. Also remember to take on one thing at a time. Most often, focus and discipline are marred by trying to do a lot of things at the same time. It is better to concentrate on something and do it well, than try to do everything and not be as efficient.
Self-discipline is best summed up by two guiding principles. First, commitment is serious stuff. If you make a commitment to someone or something, KEEP IT. Second, you are still learning, so if you “fail” along the way, don’t get discouraged. If you “fail” in a commitment, learn the lesson but don’t stress over it. Stand up, brush yourself off, pick up your plans and KEEP STEPPIN’!
An Important step on the journey to Self Discipline: Self-Respect
Becoming a master of self-discipline requires learning to love and respect YOU first. There can be no motivation to attaining self-discipline when you do not respect who YOU are in the first place. In most cases, individuals lacking in self-respect are too focused on helping others rather than attending to their own needs. Typically, such an act tends to mask some unpleasant concept an individual may have of himself, and helping others might be their way of self-medicating.
An individual with a healthy self-respect however, is one who still loves himself even in situations of masked as “failures” in their lives. Self-respect is quite different from self-esteem, the latter focusing more on holding oneself in high regard rather than simply liking or loving oneself unconditionally.
Self-respect is knowing WHO you REALLY are being at peace with yourself. It’s about knowing and trusting that the various aspects of your life are in place. It’s also being confident that you are not amiss at giving YOURSELF what you truly deserve. Everything you need, you already have. Recognize this and your concept of suffering will diminish.
Here are the various aspects of self that should be in place to assist you on your journey to self-discipline.
1. Your Body: Respect your body as it is the temple of your soul. Pay attention to the signals your body sends. Respond to it immediately when it tells you something is out of balance. Treat your body lavishly when there’s a need to. Consider getting into a regular exercise routine. I suggest yoga to attain balance of the body and the mind.
2. Your Mind: Think happy and positive thoughts. Fill you mind with engaging information by reading lots of books for the sheer joy of learning. Steer clear from pessimists and negative minds – they will pull you down. Immerse yourself in a productive exchange of thoughts and ideas with people from all walks of life. Engage in conversations with an intention to learn, not to prove yourself right. Pass time listening to uplifting music or audio books that inspires your heart and rests or reprograms your mind.
3. Your Soul: Stay anchored to the divine. It always feels good to stay connected to someone larger than we are. As we strive to achieve our goals and dreams, we might often miss remembering that there is a force that holds ultimate control over all things. Align your spirit with that of your Creator. Attend worship services if it’s part of your faith. Your soul needs consistent nourishment, oftentimes more than your body does. Meditate, pray and listen with your heart and mind so you make choices and decisions based on the greater good than on what simply feels good at a given time.
4. Your Health: People who respect themselves respect their health. Your body is designed to accomplish amazing feats when you take proper care of it. Keep your diet healthy and get plenty of rest and exercise. One of the best indicators of self respect and self-discipline is maintaining a healthy body and keeping the ideal weight for your body type. Avoid overindulgences and stay away from anything in excess.
5. Your Time: Oh my… it’s the most overused excuse when we don’t accomplish what we set out to achieve. We always blame it on the lack of time. Come to think of it, time is constant and predictable. We know there are 24 hours in a day and 7 days in a week. Nothing on earth will change that. It’s something we’re sure of but that doesn’t give us permission to postpone taking the time necessary on the journey to our destination. Respect yourself by balancing out time. Allot certain hours for work, family, leisure and personal time. Make space for every aspect of your life. Make a workable schedule so you can set your priorities and stick to them.
You can only live your life to the fullest by mastering the art of self-discipline. Self-discipline enables you to bring order into your life. It’s a whole new experience when every aspect of your life is in its place. Of course, you don’t control things in their entirety, but with self-discipline, you are able to CONQUER THYSELF so you can make better decisions that will lead to better outcomes.
