7 ways to be more disciplined in your life

In the last few weeks, I’ve written articles about vision, goals and strategy to help you understand that a successful life doesn’t happen by accident. However, this month, I want to spend some time talking about a key concept that makes success stick. It’s called: Discipline.

Discipline plays a crucial role in achieving success both in our personal and professional lives. But what exactly is it? Well, in Latin the root word of discipline is discipulus meaning “student.” It has connections to the word disciple which means “follower”. When we look at it from this perspective, we can surmise that discipline is about learning and following a certain system of standards and values.

To be successful at anything requires discipline. You must consistently apply effort and self-control in doing what is right and needed to be done in any given situation. It requires the intentional effort of forgoing temporary pleasure for long term benefits. However, it is not to be confused with commitment or consistency. Commitment is a promise, consistency is acting the same under different circumstances and discipline is control.

I’ve seen many people lose opportunities, ruin relationships and destroy their reputation all because they lack discipline. Being disciplined means having control over your emotions, attitude and actions. The principles of discipline can be compared with choice. That is, you can choose daily to remain committed to your goals, consistent with your values and in control of your actions.

It is important to understand that discipline is a skill that can be developed over time with practice and patience. Although many people struggle to control themselves and their actions, it’s not impossible. You can learn to control yourself and make decisions that are in your best interest. You can lean to say no to things that doesn’t align with your values and principles. You can learn to be disciplined and, in this article, I will show you 7 ways you can practice being more disciplined every day.

Here are 7 ways to practice being more disciplined in your life:

1. Visualize the outcome. In all my teaching, I always start with visualization. I believe that if you can see the outcome you’d like to achieve, you are 50% more likely to achieve your goal. So, what will being more disciplined mean for you? What areas of your life does indiscipline affect you the most? Is it in your finances, relationships, or health? It helps to be very clear of the area you want to focus on and identify how being more disciplined will improve your life and experiences.
2. Do what you say you will do as often as you can. Discipline is like a muscle that gets stronger with practice. Once you have decided what you would like to change, set some goals and start working on them daily. Working on your goals daily will help you replace old habits with new ones. For example, if your goal is to incorporate exercise into your lifestyle, then you must set a specific a goal, say exercising three times a week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and focus on never missing a workout. The more you do this, the easier it becomes to keep doing it.
3. Create the right environment for success. Being disciplined is a skill that is built over time and if you want to be more successful with this you must set yourself up for success. For example, if you want to exercise consistently, you will need to have the right kind and amount of exercise clothing. Running out of fitness clothes in the middle of the week will definitely cause you to miss some days. You must have everything you need to stick to your routine long term, and you must avoid people, places or activities that will take you away from your goals.
4. Challenge yourself positively. Challenges are a great way to build discipline. This is not about putting yourself in dangerous situations to see if you can overcome them. On the contrary, it’s about setting big goals that help you reach beyond your current capacity. For instance, you can do an online fitness challenge. This way, you work with a group of people who share the same goals as you and they can help you be more accountable and push harder. Every time you set a big goal and achieve it, you build a kind of confidence that can only be achieved from experience. This confidence enables you to keep growing and developing yourself.
5. Use visual cues or reminders. This is a great way to stay committed to your goals and build your discipline. Set your exercise reminder and exercise when that alarm goes off. No excuses unless it’s a matter of health. The more you focus and limit excuses, the stronger you become.
6. Learn to say no. Not every opportunity is right for you. Identify the opportunities that are right for you and say no to everything else. If you are exercising because you are trying to lose weight or improve your health, then you need to say no to activities that takes you away from that. It’s not selfish to choose your health and wellbeing over hanging out or doing activities with your friends. A lot of people will be more successful if they learned to say no to people and things.
7. Be kind to yourself. Being disciplined is not a straight path upwards. You will make mistakes and sometimes you will fail. What is important to note is that you are human. In these moments, love and be kind to yourself. Forgive yourself, heal and move on. The goal is not to be perfect but to find your balance.

We don’t become successful at anything by accident. On the contrary, it takes hard work, consistency and discipline to achieve success. Life is going to put you in challenging situations and although you don’t have any control over the things happening around you, you have control over your emotions and actions. Remember that discipline is control. Waking up every day and choosing to live your life in a way that reflects your vision, goals and values for your life is the ultimate form of discipline any person can develop.