“No person is free who is not master of himself. “
– Pythagoras
Feeling stuck? Unmotivated?
Does it seem as though you’re drifting, not really achieving your goals or making progress in life?
First, you are not alone! Second, if you’re reading this you are on to something,
Discipline is both the key and the bridge to take you from where you are right now to where you want to be in life… and, here’s something you’ll rarely if ever hear, it doesn’t have to be difficult!
I’m going to repeat that, “Discipline can be simple once these key ideas are understood and then applied!”
Believe!
Belief almost always comes first.
There’s almost no point in trying to become better and more disciplined at anything if you don’t believe it’s truly possible. Too often people will say, “Well I’m just not that disciplined.” With that sort of self-talk and mindset where can a person truly go from there?
Believing / knowing you can be a disciplined person is the first step!
Do you believe?
Visualize!
See your ideal self in your mind’s eye. What would a more disciplined you look like? Rather than trying to encompass every possible disciplined aspect of your life, focus on ONE simple discipline and say to yourself, for instance:
* I see myself passing up the cookies
* I see myself reading every night before bed
* I see myself controlling my reactions/anger
Track Your Behavior
How can you tell if you’re making progress if you don’t track your behaviors (your habits)? How are you going to know if you’re eating better, losing weight, etc.?
Plus, there is a great secret bonus to tracking— self efficacy! It simply means that you are able to produce a desired result. Then, guess what happens? That’s right, you become happier (because you are controlling directing your behavior/producing a desired result AND you gain momentum! ; )
Tracking your habits produces discipline or to be more accurate the discipline habit. The Habit Factor provides this FREE handy, PDF tracking sheet or a free app (Google Play store and iOS) — it is amazingly effective.
Patience
Patience can not be over-stated! All too often people bail on the process of self-improvement because they fail once or twice. You can and will “fail” a few dozen times… but that doesn’t matter. The most disciplined among us have just kept trying. EVERY DAY IS A NEW DAY!
Change is simple but not necessarily easy, and patience is the difference maker. Those that succeed are patient with themselves and keep trying. They keep plugging along, keep moving forward and of course that bring us full circle to Key #1…. they keep believing!
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So there you have it. Four simple keys to improving your self-discipline. Abide by these tenets and you WILL find success.
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