Anything you want in life requires the drive to get out there and do it. Part of that drive is using self-discipline to study when you would rather play or exercise when you would rather sleep. A lot of self-discipline requires your own ability to work when you would rather do almost anything else. There are many ways you can harness this strength and make it your own.
Staying Motivated
The hardest part of any goal is staying motivated. Only you can convince yourself to keep moving forward even though there are many examples in your everyday life that remind you of why you want to make this change such as wanting to push yourself through school so you can give your child a better life then you had.
Having a reminder in front of you every day helps you take those steps to keep going. This can include putting up a picture of a skinny model if you want to lose weight. It can also mean enlisting help from friends or family to meet your goals. They should want to help you meet them such as asking your husband or wife to take a class with you because it is not as bad doing something alone.
Setting Expectations
You need to walk before you can run. Self-discipline is about setting realistic goals every day and to see if you can slowly work up to the larger goal. If you want to lose weight through exercise, start by walking for an hour each day then in the following days start trying to jog by adding mile markers on your route to slowly build your way up to being that jogger and lose the weight. Set little expectations so you feel good when you meet them. Before you know it, you will be where you want to be and have met your weight loss goal.
Being Self-Confident
You will need to hold yourself up in the face of adversity when it strikes. This can include unsupportive family members or work colleagues that would be happy to see you fail or fall off of your goal.
Your failure makes them feel better about their own inaction.
You will need to take steps, even smaller steps to avoid falling into old habits and checking yourself to make sure you are still on your path to reach your goal. You might need to think of this as something you will have to work on every day throughout the day and be on constant alert for the slip into old habits or routines. It may involve changing careers or your life, but it is usually for the better and most of the time it is only temporary. You will not always be in school, so work hard and learn as much as you can while you are there.
Realistic Goals
Part of being confident is setting realistic goals. This is letting you know you are making progress even if the big goal is a long way off. You should not expect to make a large amount of money on that first paycheck, but you should be proud of your efforts leading up to it. You should also be ready to adjust your plans if the first one is not working.
Do not start trying to jog five miles on your first time out. You should start with one and slowly work your way up to five. That way you will progress and can mark the little goals. If your goal is to increase your net worth, get into the habit of saving money. You may start by saving a few dollars with the intention of adding more on a regular basis. Or trying to get up earlier and gauging it by setting an alarm that is five minutes earlier every morning. Before you know it, you are waking up earlier without the huge shock of a sudden wakeup or shift.
Learn From Your Setbacks
Not everything will always run smoothly. You might have to stop things sometimes before you can continue to work on them such as that classic car you want to work on every weekend. It also means adjusting the rest of your life to fit in the pieces of other projects around it. This can include working on that car for an hour or two in the evenings. This will mean a shorter duration of work, but the most important is that you are working on it.
Find a way to make it work through persistence and self-discipline.
Staying motivated should be a goal. It can also be a good opportunity to merge goals such as if a husband and wife both want to lose weight, then they both can join a class to help them do this and motivate each other together. They can also start walking together and eventually work their way up to jogging. It is all a process of motivating yourself first and working with the time and people around you. Don’t give up on your goals, just adjust them to meet the needs of the moment.
In Closing
Self-discipline is the key to reaching your goals in life. Enough of all the excuses of the past. Self- discipline is telling yourself that you are in control and that you have the right to go after the things you want in life and you will achieve them. It’s also about holding yourself accountable for your actions.