Happiness and fulfillment stem from discipline and self-control.
The good thing is that discipline is a skill that can be ‘exercised’ and built like a muscle but the only way you can achieve it is through intention and dedication.
Practice the following tips consistently to flex your discipline muscle:
- Have Extreme Self-Awareness
- Show up & Take Action
- Get Uncomfortable
- Be Decisive
- Set Up Your Environment for Success
- Get the Big Things Out of the Way
- Change your Perception About Yourself
- Find a Coach or a Mentor
- Be Nice to Yourself
1. Have Extreme Self-Awareness
Know your strengths, and own up to your flaws. You have to be able to constantly catch your shortcomings, question your own intentions, and pull yourself back when you are not showing up as your best self.
You can’t overcome your flaws without recognizing them.
2. Show up & Take Action
Create new habits and rituals by setting goals and breaking them into smaller, doable steps that you must do every day— especially on days you don’t want to do them. That’s the secret! Consistency will rewire your brain so that task will become a habit.
Be sure to define specific SMART goals with deadlines to make life easier for yourself because we generally work better under pressure when there is a deadline.
3. Get Uncomfortable
Push yourself past your comfort level just a little more each time. Nothing good ever grows in comfort zones. Human innovation didn’t come from comfort zones.
When you start to build the habit of discipline, it’s simply not going to feel right because decisions are made in the prefrontal cortex of our brain, while habits are traced to the basal ganglia, a part of the brain associated with memories, emotions, and patterns.
Until that action becomes a habit, you are going to be met with resistance. Push past the urge to give up, and reframe this resistance as a part of the process.
4. Be Decisive
Don’t waste time with activities that don’t align with your values or goals. Ask yourself: is this activity energizing or draining me?
5. Set Up Your Environment for Success
Remove all temptations such as removing junk food, disconnecting your Netflix, using apps to restrict social media, etc.
Don’t let your impulses and feelings dictate your life. Then set out cues in your environment that will trigger you to perform a habit, such as having your yoga mat out nearby so you integrate movement between work breaks.
6. Get the Big Things Out of the Way
Successful people know that our willpower is limited. By doing the important things first, you won’t get distracted by mindless things that will compromise results. Start by writing down your to-do list in priority order and focus on the top three.
Throw away the rest of the list.
As a bonus, small wins at the beginning of the day also create momentum and motivation, setting you up for success for the rest of the day!
7. Change your Perception About Yourself
Tell yourself you are the architect of your own life and work on removing all limiting beliefs that tell you otherwise.
Small mindset shifts you remind yourself of every day will make a difference by rewiring your brain.
Be patient because big changes don’t happen in an instant!
8. Find a Coach or a Mentor
Connect with someone who is already doing it because you can’t grow, and reach peak performance without being challenged. If you are serious about levelling up, you need to be prepared to be pushed, and be faced with some harsh truth bombs!
We are often blind to our own flaws and a good coach will tell you what you need to hear.
9. Be Nice to Yourself
Most high-functioning and successful people are very hard on themselves because they have such high standards they hold themselves and everyone around them to. Although this is an admirable trait, it can be damaging in the long run because you are wasting mental energy on things that may be minuscule.
Focus on the bigger picture, and celebrate all the small wins because any failures along the way can be reframed as valuable lessons that you needed to get you to the next level.
Schedule breaks and time for self-care, and don’t forget to rewards yourself!
