Mastering Self-Discipline: Why It’s Easier Said Than Done

You are hyped, and you want to make big changes in your life. You promise yourself that from now on, you’re gonna be healthy, work out even more strenuously, get up early every morning, and do whatever it takes to make you the best version of yourself.

Well, last night you have watched this motivational video that says ‘change’ is possible if only you do the right things.

You get started trying to make these changes. You focus on what you eat, attend the most challenging workouts, and truly push yourself to give more. A week later, you throw in the towel, overwhelmed, and find it simply not worth the reward.

That’s when the feeling kicks in that maybe you’re good enough for a mediocre life, or even less than that. And you begin to really doubt if you have what it takes to succeed. But is it fair?

Or is it more a matter of simply not knowing what real transformation is?

It’s normal to be excited about something and yet have a hard time hanging in there. Your wishes may be well intended, but the reality of the adventure can more often than not prove to be tougher than expected.

Transforming Your Mindset

In order to become a ‘new you’, you would have to give up your old self, which could be painful and difficult. This transformation cannot occur in an instant.

Instead, focus your efforts on creating small, incremental improvements every day. The effort to improve may only need to be 1% every day; that is a negligible and easy task, yet it leads to remarkable transformations after a while.

Inner Chaos

As you labor to change yourself, you might feel you are battling your own nature-and you are. Resistance usually meets change of any kind. If you’re trying to budget, controlling the ways you spend feels like an uphill battle.

If it is eating healthier, then the old temptation of burgers and fries may arise; if about productivity, then social media and binge-watching series would interfere with that goal.

This inner war happens because your old habits had been comforting and pleasurable; new habits are work, and instinctively, your brain heads towards what’s easy even if clearly worse for your long-term interests.

Recognize this battle within you, as this too is important on your journey toward better self-discipline. Yes, there will be setbacks, but you can overcome those through determination.

The Virtue of Patience

Delayed gratification is closely linked to acquiring self-discipline. For instance, you forgo junk food today so that you may enjoy a healthier body later on.

You give up your weekends to the enterprise instead of to leisure activities. That’s because, through sacrifice now, you want to attain financial freedom later on.

What is common among these goals is that they take time and continuous effort. You could achieve an awesome body in around a few months or even a year.

This requires lots of patience because at times the progress will seem slow and depressing. Sometimes, when impatient, it may appear that nothing is working but rather everything is; it just takes more time for them to manifest.

Understanding the Limits of Motivation

As observed by Jim Rohn,

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”

From this observation is the basis for finding ways of coming up with sustainable habits.

The journey tends to get a bit cumbersome as your initial drive wears away. Follow the habit-forming processes leading toward the goals, and you would do well to keep the compliance rate up to 85-95 percent. After all, this is a journey of ups and downs, with just no such thing as pure perfection.

Mistakes happen, and what is important is learning from them and moving on. Knowing that developing self-discipline takes a long and arduous path should also be what prepares your mind for the long haul.

This process indeed is a marathon, not a sprint.

Setting Up an Environment That Supports You

Sometimes, to cultivate self-discipline, you only need to make a few adjustments in your environment. Maybe when you have to work on your business in free time, you might want to avoid socializing with friends whose activities will detract you.

Get rid of snacks that are bad for you in your kitchen if you want to lose weight-so you won’t be tempted. If you aren’t good at using your social media effectively, delete the apps off your phone or install blocking software on your computer.

When you surround yourself with an environment that supports your goals, you lessen the friction that gets in the way when building self-discipline.

Whatever you do, remember that for every action one makes, he gets to receive something worthy of what he has invested in, but remember, self-discipline is the bedrock of all success.