Secrets of Self-Discipline: Why it’s Important & How to Develop it

We’ve all been there.. The new year comes, and you write up a list of wild goals you fully intend to accomplish.

Get super fit, land that promotion, launch that side hustle. You know the ones I’m talking about.

At first, you feel super motivated to get started, and things go well for the first few weeks.. 

But it’s not long until you lose interest and fall off the bandwagon again. Back to TV dinners, sleeping in, and skipping the gym because, well, sticking to the plan requires effort, which is hard, and you don’t quite feel like it anymore. 

Rinse and repeat..

How often do you find yourself falling into this cycle, again and again? Why is it that you can’t seem to stick to your plans and achieve your goals? Why does it feel like once that initial motivation fizzles away, your dreams fly right out of the window with it?

It can be super frustrating, I know. But I’m here to tell you that a lack of self-discipline is probably why this keeps happening. The good news is that discipline is a skill you can work on and improve. 

But what is discipline? Being disciplined means doing what’s uncomfortable now to reap the benefits in the future. This means resisting short-term pleasures for the sake of long-term gains. 

Being disciplined is about doing what needs to be done, no matter what. 

Discipline means doing what you should, no matter how you feel. 

Discipline allows you to accomplish your goals no matter what’s going on in your life. 

Discipline steps in when motivation fails.

Discipline is an essential ingredient in the recipe for success. Discipline trumps talent, circumstances, and motivation every time. Discipline is the key to achieving everything you want in life.

Take a minute to look at every aspect of your life. Your reality is a direct result of how disciplined you are and have been in the past. How do things look right now?

The distance between reality and your dreams is discipline. Ask yourself, what is your lack of self-discipline costing you? 

If you really want to level up your life, cultivating discipline should be at the very top of your list. So how do you do that?

Below I’m going to share a few tips that have helped me improve my self-discipline. Let’s get started, shall we?

PRACTICE EVERY DAY

When you practice something, you get better at it. Self-discipline is a practice, one that you have to work on every day. 

How do you practice self-discipline? By embracing the resistance that comes with doing uncomfortable things. 

Every time you do something you don’t want to do, you’re exercising your discipline. You’re working that “muscle” and making it stronger. 

Seek out discomfort by doing uncomfortable things, such as: 

– Taking a cold shower or waking up early when you want to sleep in

– Going to the gym when you’d much rather lay on the couch

– Cooking yourself a healthy meal when all you can think about is going to the drive-through 

There are little opportunities hidden everywhere that you can use to practice.

When you don’t feel like doing something but push through and get it done anyway, you are strengthening your self-discipline. Over time, this gets easier as your level of discipline improves.

GET CLEAR ON WHAT YOU WANT

It’s important to know exactly what you’re working towards and how you intend to get there. How will you achieve anything if you don’t have clear goals and a solid plan?

You need to establish direction.

Start by setting some goals that are meaningful to you and your life. Then break them down into measurable milestones that you can track. Now you have a clear vision of where you’re headed.

DEVELOP A LIST OF NON-NEGOTIABLES

These are the key tasks and actions that need to be done daily, weekly, and monthly to reach your goals. 

Think of them as little fireflies to guide you on your journey to reaching your goal. If you focus on executing these diligently and consistently, your success is almost guaranteed. 

For example, if your goal is fitness related, your non-negotiable items could include:

– Moving your body every day

– Getting enough sleep 

– Drinking enough water

– Eating healthy meals

It’s a lot easier to be disciplined and stay on track with your goals when you have clear, actionable steps to follow every day.

Just focus on the next step, and get one small thing done at a time. After a while, your ‘small’ efforts will start to add up and, over time, compound into big results.

CREATE SYSTEMS

Having a list of your non-negotiable tasks is a must, but how will you execute them? How will these key tasks fit into your everyday life? What is the most effective way to structure them?

This is where you get down to the nitty-gritty and map out plans and routines to ensure these things get done.

I recommend using a weekly planner to plan your week out in advance. This way, you can tailor each week to suit your lifestyle and create a plan to execute your non-negotiables.

Viewing your week at a glance also allows you to prepare because you know what to expect for the week ahead. Much less room for error!

KNOW YOUR WEAKNESSES

What are your usual distractions? What do you tend to waste a lot of time on? What do you need to cut out? What environments do you need to audit? 

Perhaps you need to stop drinking alcohol to achieve a fitness goal because you can’t seem to ever stick to just one drink. Or you might choose to move away from certain friendship circles that don’t share the same values as you do. 

Maybe you need to turn the notifications off on your phone, avoid the malls when your favorite shop is having a sale, or prepare healthy meals for the week in advance.

Determine what’s standing in the way of your discipline, and eliminate it.

COME TO TERMS WITH YOUR SACRIFICES

There’s no sugar coating it: you need to be willing to make sacrifices to succeed. What exactly does sacrifice mean to you this time?

Next to each goal you have written down and set for yourself, make a list of things, behaviors, and beliefs that you have to let go of to achieve this goal.

Accepting the sacrifices you intend to make in advance will help you when they come knocking in real life because you’ve already decided to not entertain them.

SHIFT YOUR MINDSET

If you want to change any outcome, you need to change the behavior that influences that outcome. 

A hack that’s been extremely helpful for me goes as follows: 

Imagine yourself already being the person you’re striving to be, and then act exactly like that person. Sounds a little weird, but it works! 

Imagine your ideal self.. What are her hobbies? What does she wear? How does she act? What are her values? What does she allow, and what will she not tolerate? What is she willing to do to succeed?

Visualize your best self, and then show up as her every day. 

Go to the gym because you’re a beautiful, fit woman who takes care of her body. Say no to “just one drink” because you’re not a drinker. Spend an hour working on your side hustle this evening because you’re a boss babe with a company to run.

Get my drift?

This shift in identity in your mind helps boost your motivation and pushes you to keep working on your goals, because you already are that person.

Related post: Simple mindset shifts that’ll change your life

REMIND YOURSELF OF YOUR “WHY”

When you’re struggling and feeling overwhelmed with everything you need to do, remember your ‘why.’

Your ‘why’ is the reason you get out of bed in the morning. Your ‘why’ is your purpose and the reason why you’re doing what you’re doing. Your ‘why’ is the reason you started in the first place. 

No matter how challenging it gets, as long as you focus on why you are doing something, you’ll be able to keep pushing on when things get tough.

USE A HABIT TRACKER

This was a total game-changer for me! Using a habit tracker has helped me stay accountable and stay on track with my goals and what I’m trying to achieve. 

My discipline skyrocketed after I started tracking my key tasks. Like seriously, who would’ve thought?

You can use a hardcopy list or a digital tracker, whatever works best for you, but I find it more convenient to mark my tasks off using a tracker on my phone. Not to mention I find it incredibly satisfying and motivating to see those tasks being checked off every day! 

And there you have it – my favorite tips on how to improve self-discipline! What’s your key takeaway from this? How do you plan to work on your discipline?

Let me know below in the comments. As always, I’d love to hear from you!

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