Build Self Discipline
You set goals, make promises to yourself, and then life seems to get busy. Things come up, friends invite you out, family needs you, or you simply feel too tired to start. Your goals are put off for yet another day. This is not a lack of willpower, it is that you need to build self discipline.
Every outcome in life depends how we manage ourselves. Our thoughts, our feelings and our actions.
Manage your thoughts
The brain has thousands of thoughts per day, so it would be impossible to manage all of them. We can start to control a majority of them by changing how we react to them. We are conditioned throughout our lives to certain ways of reacting to things. Whether it’s a situation or your surroundings, or a comment from someone. We have a thought about it.
How do you react to insults or people not liking you? Why should their comments and opinions matter? If we consider that insults are only words and their opinions are just that, their opinions.
If someone speaking in a foreign language insults us it wouldn’t bother you.. why? We don’t understand what they say, so they are just words and we put no emotion to what they are saying. It is simply a sentence. You are told a complete stranger doesn’t like you, chances are you’ll hold little to no value in that opinion.
Opinions vary
Not everyone likes strawberries, no matter how sweet it may be. Just not as everyone likes the view of the city lights, even though it can look very beautiful. If a comment or opinion hold no truth, don’t let it hold space in your mind either.
Manage your feelings
Feelings drive our actions or in-actions. How we end up feeling, derives from how we think of a situation and what we make it mean. Holding space for a moment allows time to react appropriately.
The old saying think before you speak, holds merit. If we are fast to reply or jump to conclusions, our emotions tend to get the impact. Build self-discipline and learn to hold that space. Think about your response, before giving your opinion or answer to someone.
When we feel upset, it drains our energy and we have a hard time concentrating at all. Feeling obligated to say yes, every time a friend or our company wants help with something will drain you fast. Learning to say no, and knowing that it is okay to say no, will help you keep up your mental and physical energy. Therefore, meeting your goals and your timelines.
Doing nothing can also drain your energy. Yep, you read that right. Our bodies go into vegetation state when we are consistently sitting around. If you feel tired, get up and step outside. Drink a glass of water, wash your face, do some stretches, just move and you will feel yourself start to wake up.
If you feel sad or upset, hold space for that feeling and then let it go. Cry it all out and then focus on the things that are good. Sadness is completely natural in some situations, however, if it lasts more than a few days talking to someone is important.
How about feeling lazy? Usually, this is a sign of procrastination leading to your action or lack of.
Build self discipline and take action
I ran out of time, other things had to be done, I was so tired today. If any of those sentences sound familiar, chances are your procrastinating.
Procrastination happens when we doubt our abilities. Rather than start a task we’re not sure on, we wait until we know everything. We wait for the right time, which seems to always be the day after tomorrow. Truth is, there is no learning it all and there is no perfect time to start. You need to take action and start to build self discipline today.
Start with journaling
Write down your thoughts, and how you feel today. Your tasks or to do list. Think about who you wanna be in five years. How you dress, how you live, what you drive, how you feel, act and behave? Who is that person and what are the steps to becoming that person?
Habits are developed skills that become automatic, such as brushing our teeth, or driving a car. When we focus on building a new habit, we start to see growth.
It is OK to start small
You want to be healthier, take a walk. Hope to be thinner, skip cake and have a fruit bowl. Like to learn a new skill, sign up for a class. Anything else you want, take the first step.
Reflect on your goals. Take the largest task, or the most important, and start on it. Take 10 minutes to focus and work. Do this a few times each day and you’ll start to see progress. Often the hardest part is getting started. Once 10 minutes becomes a habit, you’ll find yourself able to focus for longer periods of time and with much less effort. You are training your brain to a new normal routine.
Starting with C+ work, is better than not starting at all. You can fix as you progress. It is easier to correct the rough draft then it is to get it right the first time. In order to build self discipline, you must practice self discipline. Know you are worth the effort.
Don’t let fear stop you
With so many aspirations for the future, so many steps and goals to attain, we often start second-guessing ourselves and doubting our abilities. Do not let that stop you from reaching your dreams.
Rather than compare yourself to others and what they have, start looking at them as inspiration to what is possible.
Remember that everyone has their own journey. You may see their finished product, their success. You’re not seeing the countless days and nights working for them to get there. There is no such thing as the overnight success. It is only what we end up seeing.
Yes, today you might be tired today. You might have to put in the hard work and today the goals seem far away. Everyone starts at the beginning, keep pushing forward step-by-step. You’ll see change and growth. Time management, confidence, mastering your skills. It all takes time. Time that is worth the investment in yourself.
One day tomorrow, you’ll reflect on the hard days, feel proud of yourself and be happy you didn’t give up. One day tomorrow, your future self will thank you. You took control and made your dreams come true and are now living your best life. Go make that day happen, you got this.
